Old and on Their Own
Old and on Their Own by Robert Coles, published by Center for Documentary Studies in 1997, is a first edition that spans 184 pages. This book presents a collection of narratives from individuals who reflect on their experiences and perspectives on aging. Coles captures their thoughts, memories, aspirations, and worries, providing insight into what it means to grow old in America.
Readers will find a diverse array of stories that highlight the realities of aging, showcasing voices from different generations. The narratives include accounts from individuals like Nellie, who navigates her near blindness by observing the sun’s shadows, and George, who eagerly anticipates his hundredth birthday. Other stories feature Anne, who discovers joy in ballroom dancing at eighty-three, and Callie and Charles, who share their experiences of a long marriage. Through these candid reflections, the book explores themes related to gerontology and social science, offering a nuanced view of life in later years.
Official synopsis Publisher
The goal of the popular middle-aged quest for longevity and physical well-being is, of course, getting there. Here, Coles listens to what it’s like to have arrived, to have been lucky enough to make it. With surprising wit and candor, these people share their thoughts, memories, aspirations, and worries. They tell us what it means to be old. These stories span a century of American life. Nellie, born in 1897, now almost blind, describes how she follows the sun’s course by watching the changing shadows in her house each passing day. George, ninety-nine and an enthusiastic conversationalist, looks forward to his hundredth birthday when he’ll see his photograph on the Today show with Willard Scott. Anne, who took up ballroom dancing at eighty-three to help combat her grief over her husband’s death, now finds fulfillment in the pure joy it gives her. Callie and Charles, both ninety, talk about the trials and rewards of their seventy-year marriage and their lives as “oldsters” today.
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