2018/10/02

30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans - Kindle edition by Karl Pillemer Ph.D.. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.



30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans - Kindle edition by Karl Pillemer Ph.D.. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.




“Heartfelt and ever-endearing—equal parts information and inspiration. This is a book to keep by your bedside and return to often.”—Amy Dickinson, nationally syndicated advice columnist "Ask Amy"

More than one thousand extraordinary Americans share their stories and the wisdom they have gained on living, loving, and finding happiness.

After a chance encounter with an extraordinary ninety-year-old woman, renowned gerontologist Karl Pillemer began to wonder what older people know about life that the rest of us don't.

His quest led him to interview more than one thousand Americans over the age of sixty-five to seek their counsel on all the big issues: children, marriage, money, career, aging. Their moving stories and uncompromisingly honest answers often surprised him. And he found that he consistently heard advice that pointed to these thirty lessons for living. Here he weaves their personal recollections of difficulties overcome and lives well lived into a timeless book filled with the hard-won advice these older Americans wish someone had given them when they were young.

Like This I Believe, StoryCorps's Listening Is an Act of Love, and Tuesdays with Morrie, 30 Lessons for Living is a book to keep and to give. Offering clear advice toward a more fulfilling life, it is as useful as it is inspiring.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Skillfully weaves a prevailing theme (e.g., parenting, aging fearlessly) with self-disclosing statements from interviewees to create a compelling, inspirational book."Library Journal (starred review; one of the Top Self-Help Books of 2011)

"Thank you, Dr. Pillemer, for gathering all this wisdom in one book before it is lost. I can't imagine anyone whose life will not be enriched by this book."—Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

"The 'Wisest Americans' have a lot to teach the rest of us. Some of this advice is refreshing common sense. Much of it is truly surprising. It is always heartfelt and ever-endearing - equal parts information and inspiration. This is a book to keep by your bedside and return to often."—Amy Dickinson, nationally sundicated advice columnist "Ask Amy"

"This is a fabulous book! Karl Pillemer has done an incredible job of bringing together the collective wisdom of hundreds of Americans into an entertaining, thought provoking, and practical book. Give it a read. You will find yourself getting out of bed in the morning with new enthusiasm."—Matthew Kelly, author of The Rhythm of Life and Off Balance
"An absolute gem! Thank you Karl Pillemer for taking the time to collect such a valuable trove of wisdom, and for sharing it with us in such a readable book. It's one that I'll recommend often. All of it is wonderful, but I particularly appreciated the lessons on honesty and saying yes to opportunities. Read this bookyou'll get more out of life and have fewer regrets."—Hal Urban, author of Life's Greatest Lessons
"If you want to hear the wisdom of the aged, this easy-to-read book, based on years of penetrating interviews by a prominent sociologist, tells you what they have learned about love, work, marriage, and parenting."—Howard S. Friedman, Ph.D. & Leslie R. Martin, Ph.D., authors of The Longevity Project
"For five years, Karl Pillemer sat down with more than 1,000 older Americans-most of them between the ages of 70 and 100-to talk about lessons for living well. In the resulting book, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice From the Wisest Americans,... Pillemer, a gerontologist at Cornell, has culled 30 life lessons from his "experts," ranging from the practical to the profound. How to raise children? How to think about dying? Think of this book as 1,000 borrowed grandparents weighing in on life's various challenges. A salty pragmatism runs throughout."The Daily Beast

About the Author

Karl Pillemer, PhD, is the founder and director of the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging, a center that works to increase public awareness of aging research. Dr. Pillemer has authored more than one hundred scientific publications, and has spoken widely throughout the world on issues of successful aging, family relationships, and elder care.

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Biography

Karl Pillemer is a professor of human development at Cornell University and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College. An internationally renowned gerontologist, his research examines how people develop and change throughout their lives. He has authored five books and over 100 scientific publications, and speaks throughout the world on aging-related issues.

After a chance encounter with a remarkable 90-year old woman, Dr. Pillemer decided to find out what older people know about life that the rest of us don't. His quest led him to ask more than a thousand older Americans their advice for living. He asked about all the big issues - love, marriage, children, work, happiness, avoiding regrets. This 6-year project led to the book: 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans, published in November 2011. More information on the project can be found at http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/.
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Top customer reviews

D. Kanigan

VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 starsLife is short...February 4, 2012
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase


At 20, I wouldn't have read it. I was in a hurry - learning, climbing. Mortality? Huh? At 30, it's family, career and it's obligations - no time to contemplate. Little time to read. 


At 40, I'm beginning to settle, mind is opening - I might have given this book a glance. But I'm wary. At x0, (I can't believe it or say it or type it). Where did the years go? My eyes are WIDE OPEN. I'm locked in on this book. Not sure how I tripped into the book. (Coincidence? Deepak Sharma would say Not.) I read an Amazon review where the reviewer described the book as "Profound." Really? How many top-10-list self-help books have I read? Not sure I can recall one lesson from these books. I was skeptical. (Highly). And I was wrong. (Again)

There is an estimated $1 billion spent each year on self-improvements books in the U.S. And more advice columns, television experts, and websites - all preaching advice of one sort or another. Yet none of them speak from experience of having lived and learned. Karl Pillemer, the author and a gerontologist at Cornell, interviewed more than 1,000 older Americans between the ages of 70 to 100 in search of lessons for living. He spent over 5 years on the project and summarized his findings in this book. Lessons range from:

* Lessons for a Happy Marriage (Marry Someone a Lot Like You; Friendship is Important; Don't Keep Score; Talk to Each Other; Commit to Marriage not just your Partner)

* Lessons for a Successful and Fulfilling Career (Seek Intrinsic Rewards, not financial ones; Don't give up looking for a job you love; Make the Most of a Bad Job, Emotional Intelligence Trumps all; Everyone needs autonomy)

* Lessons for Parenting (It's all about time; It's normal to have favorites but don't show it; Don't Hit Your Kids; Avoid A Rift At All Costs; Take A Lifelong View of Relationships with Children)

* Lessons For Aging Fearlessly and Well (Being Old is Much Better than you think; Act Now Like You will need your body for 100 years; Don't Worry About Dying; Stay Connected to others; Plan ahead where you will live)

* Lessons For Living a Life Without Regrets (Always be honest; Say Yes to Opportunities; Travel More; Choose a Mate with Extreme Care; Say It Now before it is too late)

* Lessons for Living Like an Expert (Choose Happiness; Time is of the Essence; Happiness is a Choice, not a condition; Time Spent Worrying is Wasted; Think Small; Have Faith; Live by the Golden Rule)

I was deeply moved by this book. I found myself being pulled along - with skepticism being stripped down to bare bones of belief as I turned the pages. He's on to something. The power of this book is in the stories and the anecdotes of the "experts" (the term he uses to describe the elders who are interviewed for his research). The voices of experts are calm...peaceful...learned...zen-like. The author weaves lessons and stories gently throughout - - a slow moving stream making its way south.

Highly Recommended.
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Fuad R Qubein

4.0 out of 5 starsHow to Tap the Wisdom and Experience of the Elderly?July 27, 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase


Throughout history, humans have been searching for a better way to live their lives - an easier and more meaningful way, materially and spiritually. In their search, this book entitled ’30 Lessons for Living’ by the gerontologist Dr. K. Pillemer, must be a welcome source. The book is unique in its approach; it is based on tapping the wisdom of the elders in the society who lived and experienced life fully and are willing to share their experience and knowledge with the new generations.

How does one approach such a project? The author's plan was to ensure that all participants are 65 years and over. To be meaningful, the number of participants should be around 1000 and should be from various sectors of the society. In this study the average age of the candidates ranged between 74 and 80 Years. To ensure a proper sociological approach, the study was carried out in cooperation with Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and was subject to its approval.

The purpose of the project was to try to gain some insight into the experience of those elders and to see how to make it beneficial for the new generations. Here is a brief sample of the questions asked: What was your most important lesson for living that you wish to pass on to the new generations? What is your advice to them regarding marriage, raising children , health and careers? What were your core values and principles ? What would you advise them about aging gracefully?

Although this project was carefully studied and implemented, and attracted much attention, yet, looking back critically, it leaves some questions in the mind of the reader concerning its practicality. If the core issue is to make it useful to new generations, what assurance have we that the issues encountered by the elders, say some 70 years ago, will still be applicable to the conditions of the new generations today? Have we not witnessed the overwhelming changes that have taken place in the last century in almost all walks of life?

A more serious issue is the current gap between the elders and the new generations. As several interviewees confessed in later comments: The new generations have become convinced that we, the elders, are irrelevant and our views are archaic. Many sociologists seem to agree and ask: How often do we see young groups seeking the advice of, or even socializing with, the elders? Sadly, those wise and experienced elders who could be so useful to their society, are now more and more ignored and sidelined.

Fuad R Qubein
July 2018
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Amanda Michayla

4.0 out of 5 starsVery inspirationalJanuary 12, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The books can at time be redundant but from what I have read so far, I want to keep reading because every time I have to put it down I feel a little more enlightened and inspired. I don't know if it is life changing but I have always had an appreciation for the words and life experience of my elders having worked at an assisted living residence as my first job after high school through college. Possibly my favorite job prior to the one I have now. The people you meet truly touch your life and that's what I like about this book, it feels like words from someone you know and admire. It gives you hope to know that there are people out there who have gone through worse than anyone I know and they have come out happy and fulfilled with life. That is what I am looking forward to. I hope to make the time I have in this life count and leave some wisdom and goodness behind.

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