000 03273nam a2200313 i 4500
003 OSt
005 20240101102323.0
008 240101s2023 nyu e 001 0 eng d
020 _a9781541702721
_cRM148.60
_qhardback
040 _aPPAK
_beng
_cPPAK
_erda
082 0 4 _223
_a305.26
090 0 0 _a305.26
_bCON
_dG
100 1 _aConnolly, M. T.,
_q(Marie-Therese),
_tauthor.
245 _athe MEASURE of OUR AGE :
_bNavigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning in Later Life /
_cM.T. CONNOLLY
250 _aFirst edition
264 1 _aNew York, NY :
_bPublicAffairs,
_c2023
300 _aviii, 373 pages ;
_c24 cm
336 _atext
_2rdacontent
337 _aunmediated
_2rdamedia
338 _avolume
_2rdacarrier
504 _aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505 _tPrologue: The oxbow and the ice floe--
_tPart I: Challenges.
_tCare--
_tHealth--
_tFacilities--
_tHome--
_tMoney--
_tThe autonomy-safety conundrum--
_tLagging norms--
_tPart II: Downstream, upstream. Who to call? Forensics--
_tParents' keepers?--
_tHarm and healing--
_tPart III: Change.
_tNe models--
_tLaw--
_tMovement--
_tMystery and meaning--
_tEpilogue: Consolations.
520 _a"An elder justice expert uncovers the failures in the systems that are supposed to protect us as we age, and provides a battle plan for families and policy-makers to counter the greed and incompetence. Between 1900 and 2000, Americans gained, on average, thirty years of life. That dazzling feat allowed tens of millions of Americans to reach the once-rare age of 85, now the fastest-growing age group. The bad news: For millions of Americans, the Golden Years are appallingly tarnished, leaving them and those who love them at a loss for what to do. More than 34 million family members care for an older relative for "free," but with costs to them in time, money, jobs, and health. Countless seniors are targeted by scammers and make riskier decisions about care, housing, money, and driving due to cognitive decline. And epidemics of isolation and loneliness make older people unnecessarily vulnerable to all sorts of harm. These problems touch millions of families regardless of class, race or gender. Today, one in ten older Americans is neglected or exploited with devastating results. And the systems supposed to safeguard them-like nursing homes, guardianship, Adult Protective Services, and criminal prosecution-often make problems worse. Weaving first-person accounts, her own unrivaled experience, and shocking investigative reporting across the worlds of medicine, law, finance, social services, caregiving, and policy, MT Connolly exposes a reality that has been long hidden-and sometimes actively covered up. But things are not hopeless. Along with diagnosing the ailments, she gives readers better tools to navigate the many challenges of aging-whether adult children caring for aging parents, policy-makers trying to do the right thing, or, should we be so lucky to live to old age, all of us"
650 1 0 _aAging
_zUnited States
_vSocial aspects
650 2 0 _aOlder people
_zUnited States
_vSocial conditions
650 2 0 _aOlder people
_zUnited States
_vGovernment policy
650 2 0 _aOlder people
_zUnited States
_vServices for
942 _2ddc
_cB
999 _c194281
_d194281