The Richness

<p><strong><em><br>The Richness: Poetry</em></strong><em> </em><strong><em>about Old Age in the Twenty-First Century</em></strong> is an exploration of both the positive and negative experience of <strong>old age</strong> focusing on the often unappreciated perks. The 83-year-old author has written her experiences in easy-to-access poetry. The book is divided into six sections: Coming Into Old Age Moving into the <strong>Residential Retirement Home</strong> Walking through Old Age Deepening <strong>Spirituality</strong> Completing Old Age and A Note to Caregivers. The first five sections of the book may be read as a simple <strong>collection of poems</strong> or a kind of <strong>poetic autobiography</strong> of the <strong>author's journey through this stage of her life. </strong>The author wrote the poems as she lived them. Section One Coming into Old Age records initial experiences: diminishment of physical abilities the appearance of major illness and new spiritual reflections. Moving into the Residential Retirement Home continues to focus on new experiences-pleasant ones like a dining room where the servers always remember ones' name and challenging ones like the <strong>death of a spouse.</strong> The third section Walking through Old Age contains poems about greater challenges along with surprising joys. Then Deepening Spirituality contains a record of the kind of sacred moments that come to so many <strong>seniors</strong> during these years. Completing Old Age was originally meant to be the final section of the book-the record of an elder who has taken a long look back into a satisfied life who sees it as the final piece of her whole existence. However as the book was being put together Aisha Sherie McGuffey a <strong>chaplain </strong>who works with the <strong>elderly</strong> and their <strong>caregivers</strong> saw a few of the poems. She had been looking for material that could be used in <strong>teaching caregivers </strong>how their elders felt about meeting the experiences of old age. She was so pleased at the <strong>effectiveness of these poems as teaching material that she wrote the final section Message to Healthcare Workers even including a sample lesson plan. Thus the book may be simply enjoyed by anyone as entertainment read as validating experiences by those who are elders or used as a textbook in a teaching situation.</strong></p>