Over the last two years, I have really been struggling with age related issues, with the majority of them related to mental and philosophical issues and luckily not physical ones (oddly, right now, other than for typical declines in humans, I am in the best physical shape I have been in for more than 30 years).
Anyway, in an essay on late-life aging by Douglas Penick, he mentions that he wrote a book called Winter Light about the subject. The essay was so good, I then located the book, and this book has been one of the most important and instrumental books that I have ever read in my life. I simply can't recommend it enough. This is not a book about religion, though the title sort of sounds like it, but late-life aging. Also, it is not a book with suggestions how to defeat what comes with this and Penick clearly states that from the start, so don't expect a lot of solutions on how to deal with late life aging (hell, I have now learned that actually, "a mid-life crisis" is more about a "late in life reckoning" than a "crisis").
Penick writes about late in life aging and, accompanying the writing on that, he further illustrates aging by examining premier, aging artists and how they maintained the quality of their work, even while their mental and physical abilities declined, while still producing masterful works of art.
Penick captures aging and all that comes with it so very well. Not only that, he expresses concepts that we experience so deeply but somehow fail to anticipate or even adequately describe them, not only to others, but ourselves.
Lastly, this book would have changed my life if I had read it at the age of 20. I strongly suggest others encourage their younger loved ones to read it. It is a preparatory manual for aging and of things we just do not anticipate when young and strong.
The best thing about it is the book can be obtained for free in a PDF download from the publisher (they do hint that they would appreciate a donation). Below is the link. And I am serious: the content of this book is a game changer for many. It really is.
https://punctumbooks.com/titles/winter-light/
Best wishes to all, and back to the sabbatical.
Eric
