We may think we know what lies ahead as we age: a grim slide into depression, dementia, and dependence. But that’s just the party line, and author and activist Ashton Applewhite debunks it in spades.
Part monologue, part consciousness-raiser, her book This Chair Rocks dispels myths about late life, and proposes an alternative to worrying about getting old: wake up to the ageist messages that frame two thirds of our lives as decline, cheer up, and push back. It’s time to work together to make discrimination on the basis of age as unacceptable as any other prejudice.