Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

Presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College

An Online Talk by Dr. Louise Aronson,
author of the New York Times bestseller Elderhood

Tuesday, March 23rd, 7pm
Free and open to all; click here to RSVP

For decades, “old” has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet, at the very moment humans are living longer than ever before, we’ve made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, disparaged, neglected, and denied. This presentation challenges not only the way we look at aging but also the way we think and feel about medicine and what it means to be a human being across the lifespan.

Noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that’s neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy—a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and life itself.

The story of aging is the story of what it means to be human. It’s both a timeless tale and one that’s rapidly changing with advances in science, technology, and society. Aronson tackles this epic topic with the precision of a scientist, the compassion of a clinician, and the eloquence of a literary writer.

Presented in partnership with Berkshire SuperGenarians and Age Friendly Berkshires