BOOKS
Coughlin JF. The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World's Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market. Public Affairs Hachette Book Group; 2017.
Joseph F. Coughlin, founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, studies aging and conducts research into the true wants and desires of older adults, reminding us that each of us will grow old-if we are lucky. He feels that oldness is a social construct that may often be misunderstood, even as this population continues to grow and contribute to our society solutions and challenges.
Coughlin provides the framework for innovation and new models of thinking that are needed to serve this growing population, many of whom still work, contribute to society, and add personal and professional innovations every day. Scientific advancements have reduced childhood deaths, chronic disease, and many terminal diseases. Currently, women and men live to be 85.5 and 82.9 years old, respectively, many years after traditional retirement age.
Throughout the book, Coughlin highlights the many and unique contributions of women. Women are the largest growing cohort within the aging population, and the narrative about life after middle age continues to be directed by this group.
Coughlin alerts readers to the acceleration of knowledge about our aging population, which creates challenges and opportunism for business, education, and social organizations. The numbers associated with aging are not simply big; they are massive. Cost and needs associated with eldercare, consumer products, and personal needs of families responsible for aging adults are difficult to calculate. Political agendas often fail to consider this population shift, but clearly, there are social, political, and economic indicators that we must adapt to this paradigm shift. The longevity economy provides insight and inspiration for all, especially for health care professionals who serve this population in a uniquely personal way.
Dreyer B. Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. Random House; 2019.
Benjamin Dreyer provides insight and clarity to many of our traditional rules, fears, and norms associated with writing. Many who select this book may have read other writing and grammar style books, blogs, and articles. Often, writers follow the work of famous and infamous writers, hoping to find guidance in their words and style. Dryer helps us unbundle many of the traditional rules and help us, in his words, "tidy up our writing." There are rules and nonrules, he tells us. In response to thoughts on long sentences, he tells us that a sentence is too long when the reader cannot follow it. He explains that a good sentence captures the reader from beginning to end, no matter how long it becomes. And, ending a sentence with a preposition may not be the strongest way to end a sentence but is not as critical as we have been led to believe. And yes, all sentences and formats will not survive in the written word, and many will be rewritten, deleted, and forgotten about, as this is a necessary part of editing.
This book allows us to rethink and reorganize our writing style and perhaps clarify thoughts about punctuation, grammar, and the use of numbers. Continued discussion and examples inform the use of proper nouns and many of the technical rules of grammar that may have led to confusion. Dreyer concludes the book with notes that include common misspelled words and other areas of misuse and confusion. This text offers the reader some new freedoms, as it allows us to breaks some rules and write new insight.