Aging Through the Lens of Historical Time, Space, and Place

Aging is multifaceted. It is not simply biological or genetic. However, many of our negative age stereotypes are grounded in dependency because of the preponderance of images and stories about the physical and mental decline in late life. Baby Boomers are often credited with redefining age and defying age stereotypes of dependence because of their cultural identity as resistors. Along with genetics, the opportunities and constraints afforded within a particular historical time and place account for the heterogeneity in the experiences of aging. Lawrence Samuel’s Aging in America: A Cultural History is about understanding Baby Boomers and how each decade since the mid-1960s influenced their own views on aging. Samuel begins with an overview of how aging became a social problem in the 19th and early 20th century in the United States. With increases in life expectancy, aging was no longer a unique phenomenon. With the rise in the older Boomer population, the predominant societal view on aging was that it was a looming crisis that would result in high health care costs and a strain on the national economy. Samuel outlines the conflicted relationship that Boomers have had with aging. Motivated by their desire to cling to their youth, Samuel blames the Boomer generation for renouncing aging and promoting it as unnatural and a disease. The consequences of such negative views were that older adulthood was considered irrelevant and a meaningless part of life. Throughout the book, Samuel attempts to balance the doom and gloom rhetoric around aging with research on the adaptability and new learning that accompanies older adulthood. He does this by documenting how scientists and health professionals continue to view and treat aging as a disease, despite mounting evidence demonstrating that with age comes expertise and more efficient problem-solving. He juxtaposes the rise of anti-aging medicine and its infusion into the cosmetics industry with the rise of creative aging, which focuses on enhancing oneself in older adulthood. Samuel features elder bloggers who share their experiences of aging that are rooted in neither physical nor mental decline. Samuel’s book celebrates the accomplishments of Boomers. With their sheer numbers, he sees Boomers as having economic clout that will buffer against the so-called aging crisis as a strain on government resources. However, Samuel does not celebrate age or aging. The characterization of “old as negative” (Glendron, Welleford, Inker, & White, 2016) permeates the book and is likely a reflection of the conflicted relationship with aging for Boomers and highlights the power of negative perceptions of aging. Age is still something that is ignored or overlooked, especially if one is a “successful ager.” Samuel offers a cultural history of aging Boomers in America that is directed to the general public because aging is a universal experience. In contrast, Geographical Gerontology: Perspectives, Concepts, Approaches, edited by Mark W. Skinner, Malcolm P. Cutchin, and Gavin J. Andrews, extends beyond the Boomer cohort and beyond America to a more nuanced analysis of how space and place shape the lives of older adults. Geographical Gerontology is a comprehensive and thorough volume on the influence of geography on gerontology and how gerontological issues are inextricably linked with space and place. This book is ideal for researchers and students who are interested in the evolution of geographical gerontology as a field and in the theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions of the field. It is organized into five parts. The first part includes the theoretical traditions in geographical gerontology research. The second part is particularly useful for those who are new to the field because it includes an assessment of foundational perspectives on geographical gerontology by experts in the field—it focuses on geographical perspectives on health, social, and cultural dimensions of aging; population aging; planning and design of aging communities; and environment and aging. Part 3 focuses on different scales of inquiry, ranging from global aging, aging in low- and middle-income countries, urban aging, and rural aging to aging communities, home care, and embodiment and emotion in older adulthood. Part 4 discusses key issues that are important to gerontologists, including aging in place, identity and place in late life, health care accessibility, caregiving, and social exclusion. Part 5 reflects on the field as truly integrative and interdisciplinary and offers insights for the growth of the field of geographical gerontology. Both books discuss the importance of heterogeneity of older adults and claim that aging is often overgeneralized and misunderstood. Samuel discusses how gender bias intersects with age bias, particularly with respect to work and home life. However, Samuel does not address the changing demographic makeup of Boomers in America due to immigration, nor does he address adequately the variability in the opportunities or constraints due to differences in lifestyle and social class. For example, there is a limited discussion on the experiences of Boomers from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds. Additionally, Samuel’s cultural history of aging in America overlooks a discussion of sexual orientation, especially how the gay rights movement and the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s influenced Boomers. Cutchin, Skinner, and Andrews acknowledge in their last chapter that their book does not fully address groups that vary by sexual orientation. However, most of the chapters in Geographical Gerontology: Perspectives, Concepts, Approaches take a critical perspective by acknowledging and addressing the diversity of the aging experience. There is much discussion of understanding aging and differences among older adults by gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, location (e.g., urban vs rural), morbidity, and mental health. Focusing on these dimensions allows us to understand how and why older adults interact with space and place. The key theme that is pervasive in both books is that older adults have agency. Samuel ends optimistically by arguing that Boomers are redefining aging for the better by blurring the demarcation between middle and older adulthood, especially with regard to delaying full retirement and aging in place. The result is that older adulthood can be seen as fully incorporated into the lifespan as opposed to being a distinct stage of one’s life. Similarly, many chapters within Geographical Gerontology focus on insights gained from the lived experiences of older adults. The use of participatory approaches that include the voices of older adults offers opportunities for older adults to highlight their own agency and shifts the focus of inquiry from place and space to people and their lived experiences and their relationships with the spaces and places that they occupy. Taken together, the integration of aging into the mainstream, which is credited to Baby Boomers, creates spaces and places and interdependent relationships that can heighten older adults’ sense of belonging within society. Dr. Savundranayagam conducts research that has an impact on how we care for older adults with dementia and their caregivers, both family and formal caregivers. Within family caregiving, her research is on enhancing our understanding of the contributors of stress and depression among family caregivers, and to use that knowledge to develop, implement, and assess interventions that enrich their caregiving experiences. Within formal caregiving, Dr. Savundranayagam’s research aims to understand the factors that lead to communication breakdown between formal caregivers and persons with dementia, and to use that knowledge to equip formal caregivers with the necessary skills to be person-centered in their care.

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