博客來In this blend of memoir, social commentary, and practical guide, Alan O’Hashi explores how living in community-what he calls cOMunification-extends not only to our lifespans but to our sense of purpose, joy, and belonging. The tenets of cOMunification are collaboration, the conscious practice of weaving personal stories into a shared social fabric, of turning proximity into relationship and difference into dialogue. He uses microbrewing as a metaphor. Biermeisters mix hops, spices, yeast, and other ingredients to make wort, which gives beers their unique characteristics. That is the cultural equivalent of the Magical Wort, the foundational brew of trust, reciprocity, and care that enables a diverse group of people to coalesce into a genuine community.
Drawing on a lifetime of lived experience, O’Hashi shows how the seeds of community sprout in unexpected places. Growing up in a large extended family in post-World War II America, he witnessed both the wounds of racism and the healing power of kinship. Later, belonging took many forms: a college dorm buzzing with curiosity, his first home purchased with two ＂wild and crazy＂ housemates, a drafty apartment above a small-town hardware store, and a mixed-use life shaped by improvisation. Eventually, he joined a Buddhist-centered cooperative household where he learned mindfulness, interdependence, and the rhythm of shared living.
These seemingly unrelated chapters converged when he moved into Silver Sage Village, one of the first senior cohousing communities in the United States. There, O’Hashi realized what decades of experience had been teaching him: community doesn’t happen by accident. It is created, nurtured, and protected through intention. Cohousing, at its best, becomes a living laboratory for social evolution-a place where democracy meets compassion, where privacy coexists with shared meals, and where human messiness is softened by moments of unexpected grace.
Like good homebrew, cohousing relies on a consistent Magical Wort of values, rituals, and relationships that make self-governance and mutual support possible.
Through stories from his neighbors and other communities across the U.S. and abroad, O’Hashi illustrates how cohousing and similar models are redefining what it means to grow older in a fragmented world. From Germantown Commons in Nashville, where social connection is linked to better health, to South African neighborhoods where communal care predates modern cohousing by generations, he highlights a universal truth: people thrive when they are seen, needed, and valued.
Aging Gratefully in Good Company: Brewing our connections with cOMunification adds life to our years, and years to our lives, is a reflection on one man’s journey and a roadmap for anyone longing for deeper connection in an increasingly divided world. Drawing on his five Aging Gratefully documentaries and decades of community-building work, O’Hashi shows how intentional living can bridge cultural divides, foster empathy, and remind us of our shared humanity.
With humor, humility, and hard-earned wisdom, he encourages readers to view aging as an invitation to engage more fully with life and with one another. In a society obsessed with independence, this book celebrates the radical act of interdependence. It is a testament to the simple truth that when we care for one another, we not only live longer, but we also live better.
