What does it mean to be an elder? That’s the question raised
in Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in
a Time of Trouble, written by Stephen Jenkinson (North Atlantic Books,
2018). Jenkinson contends that although there are more old people than ever,
there are fewer elders. Elderhood, he says, has been swept away in a time of
constant change and a refusal to acknowledge limits.
Through Jenkinson’s musings, we are led to examine our lives
and values, and the never-ending quest for continued growth. This seemingly
sacred value of the western imagination and way of living is at odds with what
it means to be an elder.
Come of Age is a
meandering book – flowing into the etymology of words, and the shift in their meanings
as a result of shifts in society; to the author’s musings on colonialism; life
on his farm; the founding of his Orphan Wisdom school; and other subjects, all of
which flow like streams to join the river of the meaning and necessity of
elderhood for the young and for the old.
Elderhood, Jenkinson states, “is one stout antidote to the
learned insignificance that howls in the heart of those jockeying for
recognition.”
With all these wanderings, I sometimes didn’t understand
exactly what the author was trying to say. Sometimes I didn’t agree with his
statements. Yet, I’d say this is essential reading for anyone would like to
explore what elderhood means, and who wonders “where to?” in this age of
ever-changing uncertainties.
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