Life Lessons from Literature

Anti-Aging Psychologist, Dr. Michael Brickey

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Dr. Joe Sperry

Broadcast and podcast on webtalkradio.net. The podcast is also on the links below

(to download, right click download and select “save target as.”)

Dr. Joe Sperry

Can novels teach you how to live well as you age? Most literature focuses on characters under fifty. Older characters are usually portrayed negatively. I challenged bibliophile and former English literature professor Dr. Joe Sperry to find novels that have positive elderly role models or help us learn how to age well. The challenge proved to be difficult but Dr. Sperry identified six novels that are rich in life lessons for aging well. Dr. Sperry’s Top Recommendations were:

  • All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West 1931 (also on DVD)
  • The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry 1974
  • Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar 1954
  • Age by Hortense Calisher 1987
  • Autobiography of an Elderly Woman by Mary Heaton Vorse 1911
  • Spence + Lila by Bobbie Ann Mason 1998 (paperback)

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