BOOK REVIEW: A great book for growing old …

When we’re young, we feel like we’ll live forever. Then we actually start growing old and we experience the real change that comes with aging.

But growing old doesn’t have to be a bad or fearful experience. In fact, our final years can be full of rich new experiences and diverse blessings. That’s not how we often think about growing old, but as our nation ages, maybe it’s time we take a fresh look at what our final years really could be like.

“Rich In Years,” written by Johann Christoph Arnold (published by The Plough Publishing House) is a delightful, gentle conversation on “Finding Peace and Purpose in a Long Life.” Instead of a sterile self-help look at planning for end-of-life, Arnold shares a thick smathering of stories that encourage us to believe growing old can be as rich a part of life as any other.

Certainly, the challenges change as we grow older, and the eventual changes to our physical capacity can bring new trials for us, but living a long life doesn’t have to be one of losing our sense of worth or even our sense of usefulness. Things will change, but life is always changing! And it’s possible to discover continued purpose and deep peace as we live out our final decades or years.

“Many of us worry that no matter how successful our lives have been, they will fade into oblivion and soon be forgotten. Or we may fear losing our mind, our memory, and our independence. We also fear loneliness, pain, and suffering. Many worry that they have not lived as they should. But all this can be overcome. Growing old doesn’t have to be a prison of hopelessness and despair. It can present us with unique opportunities, where life’s meaning and purpose find fulfillment and where we can express the love we’ve always wanted to but somehow were never able,” Arnold writes.

Arnold then walks his readers through how to turn the challenges of aging into those new opportunities that extend our purpose and bring us peace.

Not only is “Rich In Years” an excellent book for those who are currently living out their final years, it also provides valuable insight to younger readers who have family and friends entering their senior season.

When I finally put this book down, I loved the refreshing journey the author had taken me on about growing old. Without creating any false hopes, Arnold addresses the realities of aging and demonstrates for us that life’s greatest blessings aren’t relegated to our youth.

Scotty

I received this book free from Handlebar as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”