Successful Aging
A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
SILVER MEDALIST for the 2022 Axiom Business Book Award for Success/Motivation/Coaching
SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Book Award
Author of the iconic bestsellers This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, Daniel Levitin turns his keen insights to what happens in our brains as we age, why we should think about health span, not life span, and, based on a rigorous analysis of neuroscientific evidence, what you can do to make the most of your seventies, eighties, and nineties today no matter how old you are now.
Successful Aging uses research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences to show that sixty-plus years is a unique developmental stage that, like infancy or adolescence, has its own demands and distinct advantages. Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age.
The book is packed with accessible and discussable takeaways, providing great material for reading groups and media coverage.
Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.
About this Author
DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and the international bestseller A Field Guide to Lies. Levitin is James McGill Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Neuroscience and Music at McGill University, and Founding Dean of Minerva University in San Francisco. He is also a musician and composer who has worked with artists including Roseanne Cash, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Joni Mitchell, and has been awarded seventeen gold and platinum records. He divides his time between Montreal and California.
Reviews
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
SILVER MEDALIST FOR THE 2022 AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARD FOR SUCCESS/MOTIVATION/COACHING
SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Book Award
One of CBC's "40 great books to read this season"
One of The Guardian's "50 brilliant books to transport you this summer"
"[C]utting-edge science . . ."
--Maclean's
"This is the book I need now. This is probably the book YOU need now. Levitin beautifully weaves hard science with more subtle, subjective agents of change-- compassion, friendship, the redemptive power of work--into a refreshing guide for those of us navigating the penultimate stage of life."
--Rosanne Cash, Four-time Grammy winning singer and songwriter, author of Composed
"A wise, insightful, and beautifully written book on how we can navigate the waters of time. Helpful for readers at any age."
--Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Stumbling on Happiness
"If you're planning to age, read this book. Wise, sensitive, and insightful, Levitin shares the tools that allow you to optimize the process."
--David Eagleman, Stanford University neuroscientist, New York Times bestselling author of The Brain and Incognito
"Predictions are perilous, but here's one I can make with certainty: Tomorrow you and I will be older than we are today. That's why you, I, and everyone we know needs this remarkable book. With a scientist's rigor and a storyteller's flair, Daniel Levitin offers a fresh approach to growing older. He debunks the idea that aging inevitably brings infirmity and unhappiness and instead offers a trove of practical, evidence-based guidance for living longer and better. SUCCESSFUL AGING is an essential book for the rest of your life."
--Daniel H. Pink, author of WHEN and DRIVE
"Growing old may be the only event in life that is both desired and feared. Daniel Levitin alleviates the fear with sound advice that can tilt the balance so that we have more healthy years and fewer sick ones. The brilliance of this book is that Levitin not only tells us what to do and what not to do--he gracefully and eloquently shares the science behind how we can change our minds and brains, and how even small changes can reap large benefits. Share this book--especially with anyone you hope to grow old with."
--Diane Halpern, past-president of the American Psychological Association, professor, Claremont-McKenna College
"Here is a 'how to' book for everyone's favorite alternative to death--aging. Bringing together the fields of developmental psychology and personality theory, Dr. Levitin shows us how to reach old age as the best version of ourselves: engaged, wise, and creative, emotionally resilient, cognitively flexible, and happy. SUCCESSFUL AGING is the fountain of youth, although you don't drink it, you read it."
--Eric Kaplan, Emmy-winning comedy writer, The Simpsons, David Letterman, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon
"This book's breadth is impressive. Excellent popular science in the service of fending off aging."
--Kirkus
"Levitin's narrative ease is once again on display as he masterfully lays out the evidence that what we thought of as old age is in fact a unique developmental stage in which extraordinary contributions become possible. These years can include challenges, but they can also reach altogether new heights that neuroscientists are just beginning to see. Successful Aging is key to a new era of opportunity and joy."
--Stanley Prusiner, M.D. Nobel Laureate, Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco
"As always, Dan shows his great facility for pulling together different parts of our field and explaining them in a way that makes them accessible to all."
--Brenda Milner, at age 101, professor of neurology, McGill University, professor of psychology, Montreal Neurological Institute, winner of the Kavli Prize in neuroscience, founder of the field of neuropsychology
"Dan Levitin's latest is an inspiring, hopeful, and useful message--expounding on the best lessons science and art can teach us about how to expand your potential as you age."
--Ben Folds, recording artist and New York Times Best Seller author of A Dream About Lightning Bugs
"In my line of work, good maps are the difference between life and death. Dan's book is an extraordinary "map" to a place each of us eventually journeys to. In it, he explains and demystifies the aging process in layman's terms. Don't grow old without it."
--General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army (Ret.)
"We are living longer than past humans, and with this comes undeniable challenges to our physical and mental well-being. Building on the psychology of personality types and developmental neuroscience, Daniel Levitin will enthrall you with this fascinating story of how the human brain ages, as he reveals just how rewarding our later years can be."
--Joseph LeDoux, professor of Neural Science at NYU and director of the Emotional Brain Institute at the Nathan Kline Institute, author of Anxious, and The Deep History of Ourselves
"Society for too long has underestimated the value of people in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Working in tandem with younger colleagues, the political, economic, and creative power we can contribute together could well trigger solutions to our biggest global problems. Daniel Levitin superbly defines the new longevity in a book that will change the way you think about aging."
--Vicente Fox, 55th President of Mexico
"A tour through a huge scientific literature, full of potentially life-changing nuggets, and laced with compelling personal experiences. The good news is that aging need not be dreaded but can be a time of health and creativity in the decades beyond 70--and Levitin's got the science to back it up. Read this book. At any age."
--Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the Sage Center at UC Santa Barbara, author of The Consciousness Instinct
"This evolving narrative builds as new topics are introduced in reaction to the previous topic, like chord changes in a great piece of music. Levitin's not just offering a compelling narrative, but guiding the reader's imagination to a larger view of things--and that feels masterful."
--Mike Lankford, author of Becoming Leonardo
"Successful Aging is an ambitious and much-needed call for a 'new truth' about aging in the 21st century. Daniel Levitin uses what we now about brain science to make a powerful case for positively transforming how we think about aging. This is a fascinating and vital contribution to doing just that."
--George Vradenburg, Chairman & Co-Founder, UsAgainstAlzheimer's
"An eloquent spokesperson for our field. Levitin writes about the brain with an ease and familiarity that is captivating."
--The late David Hubel, Nobel Laureate for work in neuroplasticity
"An excellent perspective on aging and aging well. Dan's ability to combine science with personal insights, and reflections on various experiences of aging, captures the complexity of the subject, while still being easy to read. This fascinating book is especially important for young adults to understand all the aspects that go into healthy aging and to know that they can influence the outcome, starting at any time."
--Concetta Tomaino, Executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, and Associate, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
"Dan is a long-time collaborator with us here at Salk, and in Successful Aging, he offers a compelling new look at the promise and effects of neuroplasticity. He's at his best here, communicating difficult scientific concepts in a way that anyone can understand. This is why his research talks at the Salk Institute are enormously popular, and everyone is abuzz about them for many months afterwards."
--Ursula Bellugi, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
"Levitin's book is quite extraordinary, literally. I rarely, if ever, have seen such a rigorous treatment of a health subject."
--David B. Teplow, Professor of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Editor, Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science
"Successful Aging is wise, comprehensive and engaging. Levitin, a natural teacher, tracks a discerning path through cutting edge research, tossing gimmicks and pseudo-discoveries aside, as he tackles the merits of longevity versus quality of life. Best of all, he enlivens sage advice about lifestyle choices and end of life planning with apt analogies and telling anecdotes."
--Sandra Martin, author of the award winning bestseller, A Good Death: Making the Most of our Final Choices
"[Levitin's] highly researched book provides fascinating insights into how our early childhood experiences, personalities, social relationships, and lifestyles all drive our brain's development, dispelling stubborn myths around the inevitability of cognitive decline. Arguing against ageism and highlighting the unique gifts of older people, Levitin shows us what we can all do to become sharper, happier, and wiser as we age."
--Citizens Journal
"[Levitin's] highly researched book provides fascinating insights into how our early childhood experiences, personalities, social relationships, and lifestyles all drive our brain's development, dispelling stubborn myths around the inevitability of cognitive decline."
--Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley
"[H]ighly researched . . . fascinating insights. . . . Levitin shows us what we can all do to become sharper, happier, and wiser as we age."
--Conscious Life News
"[Successful Aging] revolutionizes the way we think about our final decades. . . . Levitin shares new insights about aging and debunks popular myths about all facets of aging, ranging from memory to chronic pain, depression, and more."
--Cleveland Scene
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