Aging Well Through Storytelling: Mind’s Magic Door

Growing old is often associated with negative images and commentary. Aging Well Through Storytelling explores the beauty of aging and identifies key strategies and practices to age well. Weaving professional analysis and personal experience, Rosemary J. Link tells the story of a lifespan from infancy to seniority. Each chapter focuses on a life stage, laying the conceptual foundations from psychosocial theory and then marrying research to reality with a pair of personal pieces by Link and her mother, Gwendoline--some correspondence between the two, and others as separate reflections on the same stage of life. The stories touch themes such as being trusted with tasks as a child, truanting, questioning authority, being absorbed in the joys and stings of beekeeping, being overwhelmed midlife, recovering from the death of a child, and embracing gender and reconciliation. Through this tale of two lifetimes, Link harnesses the science of lifespan development and her own life journey to present aging as a positive process of discovery and acquiring wisdom. Linking real-life stories to concepts, she shares practice interventions and practical ways to age with vitality and embrace this precious aspect of life.

Rosemary J. Link is a writer and retired Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Simpson College and Professor of Social Work, Dean of graduate programs at Augsburg University. As a school social worker in London (1974 - 82), Dr. Link developed a lifelong commitment to research into children’s rights, family policy and international social work. Dr. Link received her PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1986. She served two terms on the CSWE International (now Global) Commission, and her board memberships have included the Katherine A Kendall Institute and Southside Family Nurturing Centre. Dr. Link is now a member of Ageless Dance, Minneapolis.