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'This collection of thought-provoking essays explores what it means to grow old in our youth-obsessed world.
'Improved health care and increased standards of living mean that each generation is living longer than the last. Rather than heralding this as a success, governments see our ageing population as an imminent disaster and old age as a medical problem. In response, we are encouraged to remain active, stay healthy and work longer — in short, to refuse becoming old. But if living longer is really about staying young, do we risk turning a blind eye to issues facing the elderly?
'Written with intelligence and compassion, Joosten’s pieces consider the housing crisis as it affects older people, the politics of nursing-home care, the realities of dementia, and women’s changing relationship to their bodies as they age. Weaving interviews with research and personal essay, Joosten undertakes a timely and clearsighted investigation into what it means to age in a world focused on the young. Arguing that every one of us has the right to be old while maintaining integrity, these essays ask us to reconsider our individual and collective experiences to find meaning and come to terms with growing old.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
August in Nonfiction
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , August 2016;
— Review of Thicker Than Water 2016 single work biography ; Giving This Country a Memory : Contemporary Aboriginal Voices of Australia 2015 multi chapter work interview ; Wasted : A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death in Brisbane 2016 single work autobiography ; A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay -
Melanie Joosten A Long Time Coming: Essays on Old Age. Reviewed by Shelley McInnis
2016
single work
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , June 2016;
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'Old age may be a long time coming, but it is coming. This eloquent collection advocates for the elderly. ...' -
A Long Time Coming : Review
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'There has been a lot of venting, by 20 and 30-somethings, about smug Baby Boomers and their grip on the housing market. Which is why this fine collection of essays on old age by a writer in her 30s is so heartening. ...' -
Taking a Grown-up Approach to Aged Care
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 June 2016; (p. 20)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay -
This Old Man and That Old Woman
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 384 2016; (p. 65)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'Melanie Joosten begins the introduction to A Long Time Coming, her book of essays about ageing, by quoting Simone de Beauvoir: 'let us recognise ourselves in this old man or in that old woman'. In doing so, Joosten makes a plea for heightened empathy towards older people, but she goes on to make it clear that empathy without action – without changed perceptions, changed behaviour – is insufficient. As such, A Long Time Coming is a challenging as well as eminently readable book.' (Introduction)
-
Taking a Grown-up Approach to Aged Care
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 June 2016; (p. 20)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay -
A Long Time Coming : Review
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'There has been a lot of venting, by 20 and 30-somethings, about smug Baby Boomers and their grip on the housing market. Which is why this fine collection of essays on old age by a writer in her 30s is so heartening. ...' -
Melanie Joosten A Long Time Coming: Essays on Old Age. Reviewed by Shelley McInnis
2016
single work
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , June 2016;
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'Old age may be a long time coming, but it is coming. This eloquent collection advocates for the elderly. ...' -
August in Nonfiction
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , August 2016;
— Review of Thicker Than Water 2016 single work biography ; Giving This Country a Memory : Contemporary Aboriginal Voices of Australia 2015 multi chapter work interview ; Wasted : A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death in Brisbane 2016 single work autobiography ; A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay -
This Old Man and That Old Woman
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 384 2016; (p. 65)
— Review of A Long Time Coming : Essays on Old Age 2016 selected work essay 'Melanie Joosten begins the introduction to A Long Time Coming, her book of essays about ageing, by quoting Simone de Beauvoir: 'let us recognise ourselves in this old man or in that old woman'. In doing so, Joosten makes a plea for heightened empathy towards older people, but she goes on to make it clear that empathy without action – without changed perceptions, changed behaviour – is insufficient. As such, A Long Time Coming is a challenging as well as eminently readable book.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2016 winner 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature — The Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize
- 2016 winner 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature People's Choice Award.