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A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being
Random House
March 2007
On Sale: February 27, 2007
320 pages ISBN: 1400064775 EAN: 9781400064779 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
In his landmark book How We Die, Sherwin B. Nuland profoundly altered our perception of the end of life. Now in The Art of Aging, Dr. Nuland steps back to explore the impact of aging on our minds and bodies, strivings and relationships. Melding a scientistβs passion for truth with a humanistβs understanding of the heart and soul, Nuland has created a wise, frank, and inspiring book about the ultimate stage of lifeβs journey. The onset of aging can be so gradual that we are often surprised to find that one day it is fully upon us. The changes to the senses, appearance, reflexes, physical endurance, and sexual appetites are undeniableβand rarely welcomeβand yet, as Nuland shows, getting older has its surprising blessings. Age concentrates not only the mind, but the bodyβs energies, leading many to new sources of creativity, perception, and spiritual intensity. Growing old, Nuland teaches us, is not a disease but an artβand for those who practice it well, it can bring extraordinary rewards. βIβm taking the journey even while I describe it,β writes Nuland, now in his mid-seventies and a veteran of nearly four decades of medical practice. Drawing on his own life and work, as well as the lives of friends both famous and not, Nuland portrays the astonishing variability of the aging experience. Faith and inner strength, the deepening of personal relationships, the realization that career does not define identity, the acceptance that some goals will remain unaccomplishedβthese are among the secrets of those who age well. Will scientists one day fulfill the dream of eternal youth? Nuland examines the latest research into extending life and the scientists who are pursuing it. But ultimately, what compels him most is what happens to the mind and spirit as life reaches its culminating decades. Reflecting the wisdom of a long lifetime, The Art of Aging is a work of luminous insight, unflinching candor, and profound compassion.
 Media BuzzTalk of the Nation - March 14, 2007 All Things Considered - February 23, 2007
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