Now here is a confession! Not all of the books on my shelves either at home or here in my study at Sarum College have been read from cover to cover. You might be familiar with the dilemma. You buy a book on a recommendation. You hear the author at a writers festival. Amazon delivers […]
Re-reading – Transitions and the Life-course :Challenging the Constructions of ‘Growing Old’ by Amanda Grenier
Posted on by James Woodward
Transitions and the Lifecourse Challenging the Constructions of ‘Growing Old’ Amanda Greener 256 pages, pbk £26.99, Policy Press 2012, ISBN 978 1 84742 691 8. I have been glad to revisit this book that explores the way we narrate age. It has helped me ( again ) to think about how we frame age. […]
Does Belief change in Old Age?
Posted on by James Woodward
On re-reading – Belief and Ageing :Spiritual pathways in later life Peter G. Coleman (Editor) Paperback, 192 pages Policy Press Bristol 2011 I agreed to offering a session at this years Sarum Centre for Formation in Ministry on what the Bible might show us about flourishing in older age. I grabbed a few books […]
What does it mean to Age Well : Reading Ian Knox Finishing Well
Posted on by James Woodward
Ian S. Knox Finishing Well: A God’s-Eye View of Ageing London: SPCK, 2020. Pp. xiv, 283. Pb. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-08349-7 Ian Knox is an experienced, wise and creative priest and evangelist. His love of people, life, scripture and learning are all present in the fourteen chap- ters of this book. His scope of reading […]
What shall we make of a frail old age ? On watching Allelujah
Posted on by James Woodward
If I had taken any notice of the reviews then I should certainly not have parted with £12 for a cinema ticket to see this film. Based on the play by Alan Bennett, this slow, intentional and warm the film explores age and care and human nature in the face of pandemic, NHS resources and […]
Still Growing : The Creative Self in Older Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Still Growing The Creative Self in Older Adulthood Donald Capps The Lutterworth press 2015, PB 208pp, 9780718893910, £16.50. This is the most delightful of books in its thoroughness, scholarship and creativity. It has all the potential to transform the readers understanding of the nature of age. In our functional and reductionist world that over […]
Understanding the Spiritual Shape of Older Age
Posted on by James Woodward
The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing Elizabeth MacKinlay Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017 £19.99 With a background in nursing and specialisation in gerontological nursing much of McKinley’s focus over the past years has been on age and spirituality. Her preparation for Ministry nurtured priest and nurse in a commitment to deepening our understanding of the ageing […]
Living with Dementia :People rarely remember what we said but often don’t forget how we made them feel.
Posted on by James Woodward
First published in the Salisbury Journal 2 February 2017 At Sarum College we are interested in engaging with and reflecting on what makes for human flourishing. You will have a sense of what it is that helps you to live what inspires your enthusiasm for life. Being able to remember is one of those dimensions […]
Jim Birren
Posted on by James Woodward
REMEMBERING JIM BIRREN One of the towering figures in gerontology has died : James E. Birren, founding Director of the Andrus Gerontology Center, at the University of Southern California, died at the age of 97. His achievements were extraordinary Foremost among these, is creation of the Andrus Gerontology Center at USC, as well as the Leonard […]
The Quest for meaning in later life
Posted on by James Woodward
P. G. Coleman, D. Koleva and J. Bornat, eds., Ageing, Ritual and Social Change: Comparing the Secular and Religious in Eastern and Western Europe. Farnham and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2013. Pp. xviii, 283. Pb. £19.99. ISBN 978-1-4094-5215-7. This volume is a compelling and authoritative contribution to the literature that seeks to understand our quest […]
Looking your Age??
Posted on by James Woodward
DO YOU LOOK YOUR AGE? Last month my wife and I were on a Road Scholar trip in Europe and we were having dinner with a Japanese woman. We got to talking about age and she asked how old I was. “Seventy” I replied, thinking of Gloria Steinem’s apt phrase, “This is how 70 […]