CHECK IT OUT

“Owning an old brain is rather like owning an old car,” writes George

Vaillant in “Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the

Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development.” “Careful driving and

maintenance are everything.”

The author of one of the newest guides to staying satisfied and

interested well into chronological maturity discounts the importance of

such predictable life-prolonging factors as low cholesterol and good

genes. Basing his conclusions on three longevity studies that followed

824 people from their teens into their 80s, he highlights the importance

of things over which we have some control: a stable marriage, adaptive

coping style, regular exercise and years of education

Another landmark study about successful aging will be published in

paperback next month. Written by epidemiologist David Snowdon, who

tracked the lives of 678 elderly nuns from age 75 to 104, “Aging With Grace” has much to say about avoiding Alzheimer’s and other age-related

afflictions. Among its findings: concentrating on building linguistic

ability, staying optimistic and strengthening relationship bonds can go a

long way toward offsetting dementia.

A local columnist presents more personal views about such midlife

issues as dealing with difficult adult children, sex in the second half

and caring for aging parents in “Time of Your Life: Why Almost Everything

Gets Better After Fifty.” Read about having a face-lift at 60, marital

challenges of retirement and the emotions a letter from the American

Assn. of Retired Persons might unleash in this collection of essays by

Jane Glenn Haas.

Equally personal are the stories in “If Not Now, When?” aimed at women

between the ages of 40 and 55 interested in exploring the spiritual,

emotional and psychological dimensions of midlife transition. Culling

from more than 100 interviews with women at various stages of midlife,

Stephanie Marston offers tips for reclaiming neglected passions and

dreams in her guide to fulfillment in middle age.

If you’re bored with introspection and have had enough of books

warning about antioxidants and sedentary lifestyles, turn to Roger

Rosenblatt’s new “Rules for Aging: A Wry and Witty Guide to Life.” In

just 140 pages, the acclaimed essayist serves up 56 guidelines for

navigating through your golden years, including such gems as: “Nobody is

thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves -- just like you.”

Finally, if you’ve gotten over the half-century hill and feel you

can’t scale a peak of the same size, find inspiration in “On Being 100.”

With recollections of 31 seniors who can look back on a century, Liane

Enkelis provides a prescription for hope showing that old age need not be

a sentence to illness and disability, but rather a time of promise and

opportunity.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at o7

www.newportbeachlibrary.org.

f7