The Pleasures and Perils of Living Agelessly
Catherine Mayer

Synopsis: Does your real age match the age you feel?
When do we reach middle age?
When, if ever, are we old?

Since the beginning of the twentieth century the average lifetime has lengthened by 30 years. Although we are living longer, the way we age and the way we perceive age has changed radically. Instead of living through distinct ‘ages’, we exist in a world where many of us do the same things and live in the same way from late teens right up to death. We are becoming ‘amortal’.

With case studies drawn from across generations and continents, journalist Catherine Mayer charts the phenomenon of amortality – the term she coined to describe the experience of living agelessly – and traces the profound impact this social epidemic has on our careers, our families and emotional lives, our mental and physical health and our world. She analyses the forces that have created this sea change – the fracturing of society and decline in power of traditional authorities and our growing faith in the ability of science to extend life – and provides a useful reality check on the treatments and technologies that really are making a difference, though not always in the ways we imagine.

In her provocative, timely book, Mayer argues that, today, the meanings of age have become elusive. Across the world burgeoning numbers of people live agelessly, rarely asking themselves if their behaviour is age appropriate because that concept has little meaning for them. They don’t structure their lives around the inevitability of decline or death because they prefer to ignore it. They continue to chase aspirations, covet new products, marry, divorce, have kids, learn, work, start new businesses and assume all options are open, from youth into age. These are amortals and Amortality is the first anatomy of the species.

Thought-provoking and challenging, Amortality is a fascinating examination of a phenomenon that threatens to overturn some of society’s longest held-assumptions, with a dramatic impact for us all.

http://www.eburypublishing.co.uk/viewbook.asp?isbn=0091939364

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
This is a topic close to our hearts here at Hot Brands Cool Places, from our Junior reviewers to our team of Founders, we draw no distinction because of age. We aim to live life to the full, taking on new challenges and ambitions, and have never considered age to be important, which is why we love this book and the philosophy behind it. Fascinating and thought –provoking, it has implications for us all. Highly Recommended!