Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years

By: Roger Clough

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Synopsis: 'In front of me is an adventure with old age as my companion, my shadow and confederate, maybe my friend.'Old age is a country, and we need to learn to walk through it. And that's just what Roger Clough, former Professor of Social Care, lifelong hill walker, and current resident of 'Oldenland' spends his time doing. Where he used to study the terrain of ageing like a scientist, now he understands it as a farmer might, walking its contours every day from his retirement village in the Peak District, while still negotiating the physical peaks and troughs of the area. Whilst there are a lot of books that cover the topic of 'how to have a good death', there is little that offers us advice on the time period that comes before that. How do we learn to actually be old? How do we spend our later years in a meaningful way that makes sense of who we've been and who we are now? Not in blithely positive denial in the face of our physical and cognitive decline, or overtaken with regret of a life that's running down the clock, but empowered to not lose who we are; to say 'I am still me'. And, if we have not yet arrived at its borders, how can we better understand those who live there, and better prepare ourselves for a future when we will become citizens too?Written over 25 years and innumerable journeys, Oldenland is a unique and moving companion to the experiences of old age, and how to make it count.