Health & Wellness Resources For Seniors
I have a lifetime affinity for all things books, especially libraries and independent bookstores. I support www.Bookshop.org where you can find many of my selections listed below. They donate part of their income to support small bookstores across the country. You might also take a look at www.enchantedlion.com, which is an independent publishing company for “well-told stories for children.” Please, whenever possible, support your local bookstores and libraries.
“Death is our friend precisely because it brings us into absolute and passionate presence with all that is here, that is natural, that is love.”
...Rilke
Aging, General
Sister Joan Chittister: The Gift of Years
Sara Davidson: The December Project
Kathleen Singh: The Grace in Aging: Awakening as You Grow Older
Mary Oliver: Upstream
Louise Aronson: Elderhood
Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalome: From Age-ing to Sage-ing, A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older
Ram Dass: Still Here
Richard Leider: Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?
Robert Weber: The Spirituality of Age
Ashton Applewhite: This Chair Rocks
Katherine Newman: “Downhill from Here” on retirement
website: www.nextavenue.org
website: www.legacyofwisdom.org
Death & Dying
Katy Butler: The Art of Dying Well
Frank Ostaseski, The Five Invitations
BJ Miller: A Beginner’s Guide to the End
Sally Tisdale: Advice for Future Corpses
Olivia Ames: Aging with Wisdom
Joan Halifax: Being with Dying
Stephen Levine: Who Dies & One Year to Live
Steven Jenkinson: Die Wise
Ram Dass: Walking Each Other Home, Conversations on Living and Dying
Kathy Kortes-Miller: Talking About Death Won’t Kill You
Website: www.whenyoudie.org (lovely film)
Phone App: We Croak
Grief & Loss
“Grief should be grieved rather than treated as a problem to be solved or done away with.”
Francis Weller, The Wild Side of Sorrow
Amy Levine: Final Wishes
Miriam Greenspan, Healing Through the Dark Emotions
Sameet Kumar, Grieving Mindfully
Meghan O’Rourke: Memoir of Learning to Live with Loss
Anne Lamott: Small Victories (on Grief & Gratitude)
Artal Gawande: Being Mortal
JoAnna Macy: “How Rilke Can Help Us Befriend our Mortality”
Below I offer some very special titles that are listed as “Children’s Books” but, as many in this category, they are written for all of us at all ages. Many are illustrated and/or pop-up books and most are available through the Public Library.
Michael Rosen: “Sad Book”
Stein Erik Linde: “My Father’s Arms are a Boat”
Bardus Oskarsson: “The Flat Rabbit”
David Mason: “Davey McGravy”
Maurice Sendak: “We are all in the Dumps with Jack & Guy”
Casey Rislov: “Love is Forever”
Pascal Girard: “Nicolas”
Katsumi Komagate: ” Little Tree
Buddhism & Mindfulness Meditation
James Baraz, Awakening Joy: 10 Steps That Will Put You on the Road to Real Happiness
Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha; and True Refuge
Jon Kabat-Zinn: Wherever You Go, There You Are
Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living
Christina Feldman, Compassion: Listening to the Cries of the World
Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English
Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
Sharon Salzberg, The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love and Compassion
Links for Meditation
Dharma.org – The Insight Meditation Society, Barre, MA
Spiritrock.org – Spirit Rock Retreat Center, Woodacre, CA
Southerndharma.org – A retreat center in North Carolina
AccesstoInsight.org – vast resource on mindfulness meditation
Health & Wellness Resources
Carol Krucoff: “Relax into Yoga for Seniors”
Mark Williams: “The Mindful Way Through Depression”
“All those who are unhappy in the world are so as a result of their desire for their own happiness. All those who are happy in the world are so as a result of their desire for the happiness of others.”
— Shantideva
