4 out of 4 stars
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In Taking Charge Volume 2: More Stories on Aging Boldly, Herb Weiss wrote about the challenges that the older generation are faced with and the effects of those challenges on the younger generation. He also touched on the American economic challenges and made suggestions on how to combat some of them. The impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on the aging population was also looked into in this book.
Weiss undertook a subject matter that was sober and realistic. The subject matter was not one of the usual issues; it would have been easy to overlook and set aside as unimportant but for the author's investment that brought these issues to the limelight.
"Growing old does not have to be a death sentence." This statement echoes the author's intention for writing this book. He wants people's minds altered on the general perception that a person's life ends at old age. He believes that older people can be empowered to take control of their lives. Growing old can very well become a motivation for people to pursue and achieve their life goals.
The title of Weiss' book suggested that it would show people the way to grow old gracefully. However, the book was more of a statistical showcase of the problems and challenges of older people. While there were some helpful hacks for older people, they were somewhat overshadowed by the myriad of statistics and reports that readers may have to sift through to find helpful information. On another spectrum, these statistics would assure readers who had faced the stated challenges that their struggles were not peculiar to them. Still, I would recommend more precise and practical steps to aid older people instead of a deluge of data.
One of the challenges faced by older people that Weiss brought to the fore was the prevalent issue of fraud. Weiss highlighted the contributions of modern technologies like 'automated dialling' and 'robocalls' in perpetuating these fraudulent activities. This showed the other side of technological advancement and how it could cause havoc on the lives of unsuspecting victims. The author provided some tips that older people and others could employ to avoid being victims.
It was commendable that the author included personal stories of people. For instance, I enjoyed the stories of seventy-two-year-old Nora Hall and sixty-two-year-old Greg Gerritt and how they adapted to retirement. These stories allowed me to see the working effects of growing older asides from the statistical data presented by the author, making it all the more relatable.
The concise quotes that began each chapter of the book aptly brought the content into perspective and cast them positively. They were encouraging and motivating. One the motivational food for thought readers could take from this book was this: "if you change the way you look at things, the thing you look at would change." This would undoubtedly improve older people's perspective on aging and their mortality.
This book could be described as a preparatory, informative, and expository piece for the aging population. As expected, I'd recommend it to older citizens specifically. However, younger citizens could also learn a thing or two from it. The editing was okay. Despite the slight issue I raised earlier, I’d rate Taking Charge Volume 2: More Stories on Aging Boldly 4 out of 4 stars.
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Taking Charge: Vol. 2 More Stories on Aging Boldly
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