About this item
An experiential guide to re-orienting our understanding of late adulthood as one of life's most meaningful and transformative stagesAging can bring new fears, challenges, and concerns. Loss of career, loved ones, or changing physical and cognitive abilities can leave us feeling isolated and scared. Sandi Peters shows us that growing older need not mean the end of personal growth. In fact, late adulthood can prove to be the most meaningful and transformative period of one's life. The key, says Peters, is the development of one's inner life, and with it a shift in one's relation to the aging process. The book draws on history, philosophy, psychology, gerontology, and spirituality to deepen and expand our understanding of what it means to grow old in the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Sandi Peters discovered her passion for working with older adults in 1984 when she coordinated care for two 90-year-olds in her faith community. That experience launched her commitment to improving the lives of elders and a 30 year career in the field of gerontology. She has contributed on many fronts: managing community-based programs, creating and delivering cross-disciplinary training for long-term care staff, developing curricula on death and dying and compassionate care for those with memory loss, nurturing the inner life of elders through practices rooted in spirituality and psychology, educating families and the general public. Trained in theology and spiritual direction, and with a Masters' degree in Depth Psychology, Sandi has focused on lifespan development and the possibilities for renewal in older age. Following the lead of C. G. Jung, she studies the role of symbolic expression in the inner life, with a particular eye towards its manifestation in older adults, especially those with memory loss. Sandi's pioneering work with elders uses sandplay, a process in which elders chose miniature figures and place them on a bed of sand to access and creatively express their inner states. Her joy is working individually with older adults, leading discussion groups in eldercare communities, and sharing her ideas through her writings and public presentations. Aging with Agency distills Sandi's extensive experience engaging with the lives of older adults. In the book she provides guidance to those wanting to deepen their experience and understanding of aging in its psychological, spiritual and practical dimensions. She offers Aging with Agency in the hope that her ideas will inspire individuals and eldercare communities to implement programs fostering healthy and meaningful aging regardless of mental acuity. Sandi blogs on subjects related to aging at https://soul2soul-seniors.com/, along with two colleagues in gerontology.
