The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America
One of Time’s 100 most influential people “shines a new light on the need for a holistic approach to caregiving in America . . . Timely and hopeful” (Maria Shriver).
 
In The Age of Dignity, thought leader and activist Ai-jen Poo offers a wake-up call about the statistical reality that will affect us all: Fourteen percent of our population is now over sixty-five; by 2030 that ratio will be one in five. In fact, our fastest-growing demographic is the eighty-five-plus age group—over five million people now, a number that is expected to more than double in the next twenty years. This change presents us with a new challenge: how we care for and support quality of life for the unprecedented numbers of older Americans who will need it.
 
Despite these daunting numbers, Poo has written a profoundly hopeful book, giving us a glimpse into the stories and often hidden experiences of the people—family caregivers, older people, and home care workers—whose lives will be directly shaped and reshaped in this moment of demographic change. The Age of Dignity outlines a road map for how we can become a more caring nation, providing solutions for fixing our fraying safety net while also increasing opportunities for women, immigrants, and the unemployed in our workforce. As Poo has said, “Care is the strategy and the solution toward a better future for all of us.”
“Every American should read this slender book. With luck, it will be the future for all of us.” —Gloria Steinem
 
“Positive and inclusive.” —The New York Times
 
“A big-hearted book [that] seeks to transform our dismal view of aging and caregiving.” —Ms. magazine
1120009815
The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America
One of Time’s 100 most influential people “shines a new light on the need for a holistic approach to caregiving in America . . . Timely and hopeful” (Maria Shriver).
 
In The Age of Dignity, thought leader and activist Ai-jen Poo offers a wake-up call about the statistical reality that will affect us all: Fourteen percent of our population is now over sixty-five; by 2030 that ratio will be one in five. In fact, our fastest-growing demographic is the eighty-five-plus age group—over five million people now, a number that is expected to more than double in the next twenty years. This change presents us with a new challenge: how we care for and support quality of life for the unprecedented numbers of older Americans who will need it.
 
Despite these daunting numbers, Poo has written a profoundly hopeful book, giving us a glimpse into the stories and often hidden experiences of the people—family caregivers, older people, and home care workers—whose lives will be directly shaped and reshaped in this moment of demographic change. The Age of Dignity outlines a road map for how we can become a more caring nation, providing solutions for fixing our fraying safety net while also increasing opportunities for women, immigrants, and the unemployed in our workforce. As Poo has said, “Care is the strategy and the solution toward a better future for all of us.”
“Every American should read this slender book. With luck, it will be the future for all of us.” —Gloria Steinem
 
“Positive and inclusive.” —The New York Times
 
“A big-hearted book [that] seeks to transform our dismal view of aging and caregiving.” —Ms. magazine
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The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America

The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America

by Ai-jen Poo
The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America

The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America

by Ai-jen Poo

Hardcover

$25.95 
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Overview

One of Time’s 100 most influential people “shines a new light on the need for a holistic approach to caregiving in America . . . Timely and hopeful” (Maria Shriver).
 
In The Age of Dignity, thought leader and activist Ai-jen Poo offers a wake-up call about the statistical reality that will affect us all: Fourteen percent of our population is now over sixty-five; by 2030 that ratio will be one in five. In fact, our fastest-growing demographic is the eighty-five-plus age group—over five million people now, a number that is expected to more than double in the next twenty years. This change presents us with a new challenge: how we care for and support quality of life for the unprecedented numbers of older Americans who will need it.
 
Despite these daunting numbers, Poo has written a profoundly hopeful book, giving us a glimpse into the stories and often hidden experiences of the people—family caregivers, older people, and home care workers—whose lives will be directly shaped and reshaped in this moment of demographic change. The Age of Dignity outlines a road map for how we can become a more caring nation, providing solutions for fixing our fraying safety net while also increasing opportunities for women, immigrants, and the unemployed in our workforce. As Poo has said, “Care is the strategy and the solution toward a better future for all of us.”
“Every American should read this slender book. With luck, it will be the future for all of us.” —Gloria Steinem
 
“Positive and inclusive.” —The New York Times
 
“A big-hearted book [that] seeks to transform our dismal view of aging and caregiving.” —Ms. magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781620970386
Publisher: New Press, The
Publication date: 02/03/2015
Pages: 176
Product dimensions: 5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author


Ai-jen Poo is the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and a co-director of the Caring Across Generations Campaign. In 2000, she co-founded Domestic Workers United. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Caring Across Generations 1

Part I A Changing America Needs Care 11

1 The Elder Boom 15

2 The Sandwich Generation 43

3 The Caring Professionals 71

Part II Care at the Crossroads 107

4 Waking the Caring Majority 113

5 A Policy of Caring 141

Afterword: Life in the Care Grid 169

Acknowledgments 177

Appendix A Government Programs Related to Aging and Care 179

Appendix B Resources for Families 189

Appendix C Ways to Get Involved 201

Notes 207

Index 217

About the Authors 227

About the Photographers 229

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