Sage

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Part memoir and part examination of several assisted living communities. Young ambitious and working in advertising in San Francisco Renshaw-Breen wasn't a fan of old people. They were slow she believed a burden on society. But after moving with her husband to small-town Ojai California the best job she could find was marketing director at a retirement community.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>To her surprise many of the community's residents defied her previous assessment of seniors. Some though in their 80s and 90s were physically and mentally fit. She met painters poets and political activists. She was inspired by longtime married couples still in love and by a passionate new romance between two nonagenarians. Many residents including dementia patients became her friends. She advocated for staff who were often overworked and underpaid. The author also candidly outlines the challenges of a demanding job...under constant pressure to fill beds she experienced stress and burnout. In addition she navigated a volatile marriage.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Throughout she gives a frank account of assisted living communities. Her memoir offers a peek behind the curtains of an industry in which the desire to compassionately serve and the wish to financially profit clash.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Renshaw-Breen acknowledges her drive to maximize profits but she cared deeply about the residents whether they were patient and admirable or cranky and demanding. The author is also upfront about her own strengths and shortcomings; she recounts for example times she yelled at support staff. Humor plays a pivotal part; in one facility 96-year-old Bob is told his apartment costs 4000 dollars a month and an additional 700 dollars for a girlfriend to move in. He happily responds I'll take the girlfriend for 700 per month.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>This vibrant narrative challenges the view that the twilight of life lacks brightness. Renshaw-Breen witnessed the candid reality of aging-a journey society shuns yet one which affects us all. She shares her elderly mentors' gift of guidance on marriage mortality and insights into what truly matters in life.</span></p><p></p><p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Sage: A Journey to the Final Station--My Years Working in Assisted Living</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> sheds light on some secrets from life's final chapter.</span></p>