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Love Stories of Later Life: A Narrative Approach to Understanding Romance | 
 enlarge | Author: Amanda Smith Barusch
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $17.95
You Save: $7.00 (28%)
New (14) Used (6) from $17.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 299999
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0195314042
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.708460973
EAN: 9780195314045
ASIN: 0195314042
Publication Date: March 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Even with baby boomers retiring and greater media and research attention being lavished on older people, most gerontologists have studiously avoided examining romance among the elderly. Love Stories of Later Life is an appealing and eye-opening remedy to this neglect, as leading gerontologist Amanda Smith Barusch presents original research into what love and romance mean in seniors' lives. The result is a glimpse into a world many people didn't know existed - that of romantic love in later life.
Unlike superficial guidebooks that purport to help seniors find a new mate, Love Stories of Later Life integrates theory and the latest research on love and the aging process. Drawing on a wealth of personal narratives collected during a landmark five-year study, the book presents the lived experiences of older adults from all walks of life. It addresses the impact of common age-related changes, both emotional and physical, on romantic relationships, and argues that love continues to sculpt our personalities and our lives, even in life's later decades. Each chapter includes practical tools for the serious student of love, including exercises designed to increase self-awareness and relationship-building as well as annotated lists of suggested reading that are at once comprehensive and accessible.
Barusch's fresh perspective, engaging voice, and in-depth qualitative research make Love Stories of Later Life an important contribution to the study of individual lives and the aging process. This book will guide gerontologists, social workers, and counselors as they in turn help their older clients navigate love's challenges.
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| Customer Reviews:
Well done! June 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For single people over the age of 65, LOVE STORIES OF LATER LIFE is the book to read. Although Barusch writes this book for gerontologists, her audience includes readers over the age of 65. At the end of each chapter, Barusch includes comments that could be found on the Oprah Winfrey program. Barusch does a sensitive job in guiding elders who are seeking intimate partners.
The author includes narrative comments and survey research results then provides an analysis in each chapter. Although my description seems to follow an academic pattern, her writing is quite readable and useful for non-academics who desire intimate relationships.
Good News About Love Stories of Later Life May 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is about possibilities---the possibility of long-lasting love at a time when our life span has doubled; the possibility of keeping love and romance alive when married for decades; and the possibility of finding love again after divorce or widowhood. But can love, romance, and passion flourish in the second half of our lives? Barusch answers with a resounding YES! And through her research she has demonstrated this to be true. That's good news for all of us over 50, whatever our status.
Love Stories of Later Life May 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is well worth buying, reading and keeping for further reference. It is a beautifully written, clearly expressed and accessible work on the positive aspects of growing older, recognising the possibilities for being a whole person at every age.
It is about love stories in later life, from seventies to well into the nineties, and is a well-researched work on how older people sustain continuing relationships or create new short or longer term relationships, both hetero-sexual or same sex, of love, romance, sex, infatuation. Amanda Barusch breaks through ageist stereotypes to reveal that emotions persist and maybe even increase as we get older, that sex is not only for the young, and that romance is there at all ages. She also helpfully provides academic insights into theorists such as Bowlby, Jung and Freud, and considers the concept of love throughout the centuries and cultures, beginning with ancient Greece, and ending with our own western industrialised societies.
This is a ground-breaking academic book, pushing past the myths of ageing, with theories supported by thorough research. Good for all social workers and others in gerontology, for adult children, and especially for those of us in our later years.
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