The truth about aging is that everyone, everywhere, is aging, whether we like it or not. We need new models and a new story of what it means to be old because the anti-aging mindset is pervasive in Western culture. Lieder and Shapiro point out that with each passing moment, we’re further from birth, and closer to death, and there’s nothing we can do about that. But they have good news. Aging doesn’t have to be passive; it can be an active process. They tell us that instead of getting old, we can grow old. This dialogue reveals how we can age on our own terms for as long a possible. They write: “By making choices about what it means to be old, we’re not denying time advances, but we are taking charge of what it means to ‘act our age’ in our own way.” The earlier we begin to reimagine old age, the better. Join Leider and Shapiro as they guide us in aging into the fullness of life.
