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Distributed for On Point Press
Front-Wave Boomers
Growing (Very) Old, Staying Connected, and Reimagining Aging
How baby boomers are changing the way we age.
The Baby Boomer generation is heading into old age in a time of overt ageism and shamefully deficient eldercare. The front wave, now heading into their seventies, are on the brink of life changes that will be challenging not only for their friends and family but for society and the healthcare system as well. Journalist and sociologist Gillian Ranson, a front-wave boomer herself, investigates what boomers are doing to prepare for old age. Whether they’re an “elder orphan” living in subsidized housing, a busy grandparent doing daycare pick-ups, a small business owner phasing into retirement, or a wife learning to cope with her partner’s dementia, they all share one thing. They need intimate, caring social ties to other people. Just as the baby boomer generation transformed life for teenagers and youth in the 1960s, they now have a chance to forge a better way to grow old.
The Baby Boomer generation is heading into old age in a time of overt ageism and shamefully deficient eldercare. The front wave, now heading into their seventies, are on the brink of life changes that will be challenging not only for their friends and family but for society and the healthcare system as well. Journalist and sociologist Gillian Ranson, a front-wave boomer herself, investigates what boomers are doing to prepare for old age. Whether they’re an “elder orphan” living in subsidized housing, a busy grandparent doing daycare pick-ups, a small business owner phasing into retirement, or a wife learning to cope with her partner’s dementia, they all share one thing. They need intimate, caring social ties to other people. Just as the baby boomer generation transformed life for teenagers and youth in the 1960s, they now have a chance to forge a better way to grow old.