Boomers Really Can Put Old on Hold, by Barbara Morris. Escondido, CA: Image F/X Publications; 2002. 158 pages, paperback, $16.95.

This cleverly titled, self-help book on aging reports on many ideas like the importance of a healthy lifestyle, improving memory, the importance of education, avoiding junk food, the value of adequate hydration, being active in late life, the benefits of a positive attitude, and the need to resist direct-to-consumer advertising of medications.

The book is easy to read, and formatted well, with little boxes that summarize the main point on almost every page. The author is a 73-year-old, full-time pharmacist. And let's face it, a 73-year old who works full-time as a pharmacist and finds the time to write a book-these are credible credentials.

Unfortunately, however, this books falls into the genre of anti-aging treatises, for which there appears to be a substantial market. I use the word unfortunate because this modest contribution to the anti-aging literature has found its way to a reviewer with a decidedly pro-aging bent.

Although I do not think older adults should dwell on their deficits and limitations, I have earned the right, as a 58-year-old adult, to move on. I no longer play full-court basketball or hop over low shrubbery just for the heck of it. I am comfortable with my thinning hair. I am okay with the fact that my students will not call me David even when I suggest it (some kind of respect thing for old folk). I think it is acceptable to admit that I am more forgetful than I used to be, though I agree with the author that the term "senior moment" should be retired.

I also recognize the strengths that come with age. I am more aware of my opinions and willing to express them directly. I know how to get along better with people that I love and respect, and I have the good sense to know which people to avoid when possible. I know what I like to do, and I find more time to do those activities.

I do not like the anti-aging attitude. It is like being anti-oneself, because we are all aging. Anti-agers urge you to defy the aging process. If you do not, you are lazy and a loser to boot. Pro-agers like me embrace the aging process, modestly accepting its deficits, and creatively uncovering its strengths.

But what really raises my body heat about the anti-aging movement is that it is a thin veneer for a marketing campaign to foist unnecessary products upon the public. This author is an enthusiastic endorser of her fair share of dubious anti-aging products like antioxidants, Gingko biloba, SAM-e, and CoQ10. An examination of the research literature is not nearly as sanguine about the efficacy of these supplements.

The author also makes questionable assertions, like avoiding seniors-only organizations, the value of fasting, and the avoidance of fluoridated water. I also take issue with some of her questionable book recommendations in the resource section.

The author states that "chronological age has no relationship to ability or state of health," which reveals a lack of familiarity with the geriatric literature. And to state that "retirement is a traumatic event" is equally revealing about her lack of gerontologic knowledge. And, finally, I take a different slant on her admonition: "Remember, growing old is a choice." The choices we have are whether we deny, fight, or accept the aging process, and how we choose to define aging with grace.