How to Say It(r) to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders

by David Solie

Book Overview

A practical guide to bridging the generation gap. In How to Say It to Seniors , geriatric psychology expert David Solie offers help in removing the typical communication blocks many experience with the elderly. By sharing his insights into the later stages of life, Solie helps in understanding the unique perspective of seniors, and provides the tools to relate to them.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735203806
• ISBN13: 9780735203808
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.3" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

How To Say It to Seniors is a book for everyone

David Solie was a speaker at a conference I attended this spring. Along with getting to hear him speak, I obtained a copy of his book, "How to Say it to Seniors". I went home and tried some of these strategies with my mother and the results were astounding. The book was easy to read and understand as Mr. Solie uses entertaining stories to illustrate his message. I have now purchased 5 more of these books and have donated one to my church library, one to our parish nurse, one to my mother and will be making this book available to all my clients as this book, and the techniques contained within, go far beyond my professional use of these strategies. This is a book for everyone who has an aged parent, grand-parent, elderly neighbor, or who deals with elderly people, either professionally, or on a personal level.

Humane, wise, practical...SUPERB

It's shocking that this book is being marketed merely to professionals who must deal with the vagaries of the senior personality. It's simply the best book on the subject I've read. The author has a huge heart for seniors and those who work with them--professionals, certainly, but also neighbors, friends, children, grandchildren. If you're looking for a book on how to manhandle or finesse the elderly into doing what you want (even for their own good), then this isn't for you. Solie explains the new goals seniors face as they contemplate their lives--often alone, as peers and spouses die--and the twin conflicting motivations they must wrangle with--the need for control, and the need to let go. Walking us through their worlds--a world that, if we're honest, we can't but guess at--Solie gently prods us to reevaluate WHY we are communicating so poorly, and how we can improve. In the end, it is we who must change, especially our instinct to bully the senior into a more comfortable situation (usually for US, and as always, "for their own good"). Respect, love, sympathy, and cheer shine out of his writing and text. I read it in one sitting, and found myself in tears. Why didn't I have this book when my mother was still alive?

All baby boomers need to read this book

David Solie has written a remarkable book - "How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communications Gap with our Elders." It's aimed squarely at baby boomers who are attempting to handle the difficulties, frustrations, and guilt they feel as they try to achieve effective communication with their elders. Such attempts often fail because of the different agendas held by the middle-aged and the elderly. Mr Solie has unearthed two principal motives in elderly people's verbal and non-verbal behavior - to maintain control over their lives, and to discover their legacy, or how they will be remembered. The book's approach is logical. Theory is presented, examples of miscommunication are provided, and solutions (or, at the very least, reasonable alternative approaches) are offered. Mr Solie suggests that the reader looks first at the sections that most directly apply to a particular situation, and then returns to the theoretical underpinnings for adapting their behavior. Everyone - whatever age - can relate to the examples chosen, and I submit that everyone can learn from the solutions offered. The writing is clear, simple, and pithy. I particularly liked the apt quotations used in the chapter headings. As a 73-year-old, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

A Wonderful Book and a Great Public Service!

Every now and then a new work comes along that once you read it-it forever changes the way you see the world. "How To Say It To Seniors" is one of those rare books. If everyone having a communication problem with their elders or even juniors for that matter were to read this book, an enormous cloud of noxious frustrated miscommunication would lift from America like the sudden clearing of a heavy fog-a fog of despair. This book was written in part to help business professionals in dealing with seniors, but it is also profoundly useful in helping baby boomers communicate successfully with their aging parents. If you are experiencing a communications disconnect with an elder or know someone who is, then this advice will have a very positive impact of your life. "How To Say It To Seniors" gets the highest recommendation that I can give along with the full realization that it has the potential to save you from a lifetime of regret. Here is a chance to communicate with your elders while there is still time. I hope this books winds up on the best-seller list and remains there, the world will be a much better place for it.