Skip to main content

Golden Oldies





The Golden Years: Healthy Aging and the Older Adult by Christopher W. Bogosh
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Years-Healthy-Aging-Older/dp/1481077740/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383519723&sr=1-7&keywords=the+golden+years

This is the second book I’ve read by Chris on medicine, the first was Compassionate Jesus.  The Golden Years is a deep look into the issues of older adults, aging, and end of life issues. As other reviewers have indicated, the book’s goal is to ‘assist the reader to live the “golden years” with the glory of God in view’ (125).  The matters that are discussed in the book include aging, healthy living, preventive healthcare, management, health problems, and chronic health problems.  Rooting his message in a perceptive understanding of medicine and through Christian convictions, Chris takes a unique approach in speaking about issues surrounding older adults (6-7).

Chris points out an important idea in the chapter on Aging by writing, “The desire to feel secure may have a positive effect by driving the older adult to seek help, security in God, membership at a local church, and assistance from local agencies, or it can drive the person to further alienation, despair, depression, and even suicide.  Feeling safe, un-threatened, and secure is not only a legal right; it is an innate need God wants us to fulfill” (19).  I have sense this first in family as the older adults in my extended family draw great comfort from investing time in volunteer agencies and also in relationships with friends (card games, dinner functions, etc.).   It is easy to lose sight of these available resources for relationships and companionship when a person is wrangled by despair and loneliness.  Yet, I think Christ is right in saying that God created humans for each other and companionship provides emotional and spiritual comfort.

The chapter on preventive healthcare was helpful in understanding the good and bad of medication.  Chris writes, “When an older adult reports new signs of symptoms, one of the first things the provider will do is rule out medication as a cause……..Medication is a primary suspect when new problems occur, but is usually not the prescribed drug itself causing the problem” (52).  Chris goes onto point out that a combination of factors like the person not taking the medication or a bad interaction with other medicine.  Careful monitoring is the way to check to see if the medicine is doing its job and the person is taking responsibility.  Another issue related to medicine is the rising cost of drugs.  With a fixed income and senior adults spending at times over 200 dollars a month for medication, rising costs of medicine can be a real problem. 

Overall, I think the book was very informative is sometimes downright boring.  Yet, I think there is plenty here to digest concerning all the issues of older adults.

Thanks to Good Samaritan Books and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more