The Big Move

When her husband's ill health forces them to move into an assisted living facility, Anne M. Wyatt-Brown suddenly finds herself surrounded by elderly residents. In this lively and provocative collection, other distinguished gerontologists reflect on Anne's moving account of her transition to becoming a member of a vibrant and sociable community that offers care-giving support, while encouraging her to pursue her own interests, including exercising, reviewing articles for scholarly journals, serving on committees, and singing. By redefining notions of care and community, undoing the stigmas of aging, and valuing the psychological factors involved in accepting assistance, this volume provides a bold new framework for thinking about aging, continuing care, making the big move to a retirement community, and living with vitality in the new environment.

Introduction: Home Places / Ruth Ray Karpen
1. A Wife's Life, A Humanist's Journey, 2010-2012 / Anne Wyatt-Brown
2. Coming to Care / Ruth Ray Karpen
3. Lifelong Strengths Ground Later-Life Wisdom / Helen Q. Kivnick
Afterword: Making Oneself at Home / Margaret Morganroth Gullette
Epilogue: Still on the Journey, 2012-2015 / Anne Wyatt-Brown
Annotated Bibliography
Fiction / Margaret M. Gullette
Mostly Non-Fiction / Helen Q. Kivnick, Ruth Ray Karpen, Anne Wyatt-Brown