Lifelines: Living Longer, Growing Frail, Taking Heart

Lifelines: Living Longer, Growing Frail, Taking Heart

As life expectancy increases throughout the developed world, can we look forward to enjoying those extra years? A specialist in elderly care, Dr. Muriel Gillick examines the complications of life as people live far longer than they used to. Her work sheds light on the experience of the frail elderly, and the lives of all those who struggle to find comfort, well-being, and meaning in the last months or years of life. This book aims to help the frail elderly and their families cope with the often unforeseen dilemmas of aging: the most common chronic ailments and acute problems and their impact on living options. Tracing the stories of four different people, Gillick highlights the various challenges and decisions that arise when frailty develops and discusses the importance of prevention and social responsibility in assessing, treating, and living with frailty. This compelling and compassionate portrait will inspire discussion of the medical, ethical, and social implications of growing old and living with precarious health.

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