Losing it : in which an aging professor laments his shrinking brain, ... / William Ian Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, William Ian, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Miller, William Ian, 1946-.

Miller, William Ian.

Old age.

Aging.

Old age in literature.

Aging in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Losing It, William Ian Miller brings his inimitable wit and learning to the subject of growing old: too old to matter, of either rightly losing your confidence or wrongly maintaining it, culpably refusing to face the fact that you are losing it. The "it" in Miller's "losing it" refers mainly to mental faculties-memory, processing speed, sensory acuity, the capacity to focus. But it includes other evidence as well-sags and flaccidities, aches and pains, failing joints and organs. What are we to make of these tell-tale signs? Does growing old gracefully mean more than simply refusing unseemly cosmetic surgeries? How do we face decline and the final drawing of the blinds? Will we know if and when we have lingered too long?Drawing on a lifetime of deep study and anxious observation, Miller enlists the wisdom of the ancients to confront these vexed questions head on. Debunking the glossy new image of old age that has accompanied the graying of the Baby Boomers, he conjures a lost world of aging rituals-complaints, taking to bed, resentments of one's heirs, schemes for taking it with you or settling up accounts and scores-to remind us of the ongoing dilemmas of old age. Darkly intelligent and sublimely written, this exhilarating and eccentric book will raise the spirits of readers, young and old.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Introduction: Striking Out

CHAPTER 1. The You behind Your Eyes Is Out of Date

CHAPTER 2. Can You Recall What You Had for Dinner, Cronus?

CHAPTER 3. Shrink Wrap

CHAPTER 4. Old Views of Old Age

CHAPTER 5. Older, Yes, but Wiser?

CHAPTER 6. The Dark Side of Wisdom

CHAPTER 7. Homo Querelus (Man the Complainer)

CHAPTER 8. Old Saints, Old Killers, and More Complaints

CHAPTER 9. Complaining against the Most High

CHAPTER 10. Giving Up Smoting for Good

CHAPTER 11. Paralysis of the Spirit

CHAPTER 12. Yes, You Can Take It with You

CHAPTER 13. Owing the Dead

CHAPTER 14. Going Soft

CHAPTER 15. Little Things; or, What If?

CHAPTER 16. Defying Augury

CHAPTER 17. Frankly, I Do Give a Damn

CHAPTER 18. Going through All These Things Twice

CHAPTER 19. Do Not Go Gentle: A Valediction

Addendum

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613309228

9781283309226

128330922X

9780300178371

0300178379

OCLC:

759398132