Vital Involvement in Old Age: The Experience of Old Age in Our Time

by Erik H. Erikson, Joan M. Erikson, Helen Q. Kivnick

Book Overview

The last stage, old age, challenges the individual to rework the past while remaining involved in the present. The authors begin this work with their theory of life's stages through old age. In Part two, they discuss their interviews with twenty-nine octogenarians, on whom life history data has been collected for over fifty years. Part three is a discussion of the life history of the protagonist in Ingmar Bergman's film Wild Strawberries. In Part...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393305090
• ISBN13: 9780393305098
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

like life- bits and pieces

This is a fascinating combination of two aged giants in developmental theory, Joan and Erik Erikson, together (as is fitting with the aged authors) a geronotologist. Like old age, it is a combination of memories of more solid, middle aged times and theories, and loose ends of current life. The stories from Berkeley seniors seems to be planted with a history- much like our lives as old people are current harvest of today and much filled memories. I found it surprizing that like my old life, new accomodations are found. In particular, the number of people interacting with dead spouses I found a welcome secret. We can keep our old firm 50s era "science" and certainty, as yet combine with our aged experience and whimsy.