Our Autumn Years: Not Golden But Interesting

Our Autumn Years, Not Golden but Interesting uses cartoons and aphorisms to portray the lives of heroes who creatively find ways to overcome overwhelming obstacles or learn to accept them and continue a meaningful life without bitterness. The obstacles are declining minds and bodies, a medical profession that lacks patience, young people who lack tolerance and families who patronize them. The heroes, of course, are the elderly who do not go gentle into that good night but come out swinging?

For example, in one cartoon, an elderly patient on the examination table directs a "bullshit meter" at his doctor and says: "Now I have a test for you." In another, an old couple canoodles in the park oblivious to the disgust of a young passerby. Other cartoons in "Our Autumn Years" show an old lady telling her friend, "I want to live as long as I find myself interesting," and an old man whose grandson tries to walk in step with him. None of these characters are pathetic or even sad.

Drawing on his medical background. personal experience, and the skills of top cartoonists, Dr. Arthur Hartz presents a picture of the elderly as having the same variation, complexity and novelty as everyone else –– possibly in larger doses. Anyone with interest in aging should enjoy this insightful, compassionate, and humorous portrayal of elderly.