★A fresh and positive perspective on aging.
★Focus not on living as long as possible, but on aging as well as possible.
★A counterpoint to the traditional narrative of aging as a burden or cost.

When it comes to aging, we tend to focus more on the quantity of life than on its quality. But what if much of the hardship of growing older could be avoided simply by looking at aging differently and by dealing with it in a new way?

This book does not offer advice on how to live as long as possible. Instead, it provides guidance for anyone struggling with the deeper questions of growing older. It explores three central themes: how to free yourself from prejudices about aging, how to cope with a changing body and mind, how we as a society approach caregiving, and how we can remain engaged and continue to contribute to one another. Along the way, it draws not only on scientific research, but above all on the author’s experience as a psychiatrist for the elderly.

Through the author’s personal reflections, illuminating stories, and the latest scientific insights into the aging brain and body, this book offers a deeply personal and original perspective on how we can prepare for old age, even at a younger stage of life.

Mathieu Vandenbukke is a geriatric psychiatrist and full professor of neuroscience at KU Leuven. He is director of the Leuven Brain Institute.