Narratives of Positive Aging Seaside Stories [Hardcover]

InNarratives of Positive Aging, Amia Lieblich presents a qualitative study that explores the life narratives of elderly men and women who engage in practices of positive aging. They belong to a spontaneous community that assembles daily, early in the morning, on a beach near Tel-Aviv, Israel. At the seaside, the elders practice various outdoor sports, and converse over coffee at the local caf?. Based on their narratives, procured by individual open-ended interviews, and the author's participant observation, the book explores the impact of routine, physical activity, and social relationships on successful aging. Lieblich additionally presents an analysis of the tension-minimizing discourse adopted at the caf? and the pleasant bubble-like environment it fosters amongst the community members. Finally, the book debates the adaptive role of narrating one's life story, and its perceived manifestation of wisdom. A combination of complete life stories and extracts of conversations recorded on the beach color every chapter. These texts are complimented and elucidated by a variety of academic claims, theories and findings concerning narratives and aging. This book, based on an Israeli field study, may be viewed both as a local case study as well as a lesson relevant to aging everywhere.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The setting: Field research in a seaside moveable community

Chapter 2: Reserved seats: On routines and aging

Chapter 3: Stopping time: The active life style of the elderly

Chapter 4: Forging a community of equals

Chapter 5: The discourse of the seaside community: Creating a bubble

Chapter 6: Wisdom, aging and stories

Chapter 7. Concluding reflections

Appendix 1. Methodological comments

Appendix 2. List of members of the community

References

[I]t is the illuminative and dynamic qualities of narrative that makeNarratives of Aging: Seaside Storiesby Amia Lieblich so atls;