Narrative Gerontology

From The Critics

Reviewer: Marquis D. Foreman, PhD, RN, FAAN(University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing)
Description: This book is a postmodern examination of the role that narratives play in gerontological theory, research, and practice.
Purpose: The primary aim is to contribute toward the development of a conceptual framework and a language for studying the experiences and meanings of growing older. This subjective, or individual perspective, is meant to broaden the base for the science of aging by complementing the explosion of objective, or external, knowledge of aging from the 20th century.
Audience: According to the editors, this book could be a text or a supplementary text in courses dealing with adult development and aging both at undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, the narratives provide inner views of aging that are especially relevant for physicians, nurses, social workers, pastoral care workers, psychotherapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
Features: The book consists of 15 chapters divided into three sections: theory, research and practice. The first chapter provides an overview, focusing primarily on the 5 basic assumptions of narrative gerontology. This chapter provides an excellent entrée to the remaining stories of experiences of growing older. Chapters providing examples of growing older from around the globe are grouped into the three categories — theory, research, or practice — based on the major contribution of the narrative. However, the editors make clear in the preface that the importance of narrative gerontology is its ability to contribute to theory, research, and practice.
Assessment: This is a very interesting and important book that makes extraordinary contributions to the knowledge of aging. By focusing on aging from the inside, aging as it is experienced and expressed in the stories of older persons, we are reminded of the uniqueness of the experience of growing older by which we gain insights into what makes life worth living.

4 Stars! from Doody