Self-Help

In From The Inside Looking Out, Auger, Tedford-Litle and Wallace-Allen seek to overcome the “us” and “them” dichotomy that characterizes much of the literature on aging. By asking older people to talk about their experiences and treating this information as valuable, the authors have presented a tool that can be used to begin such a process.
This second edition documents the lived experiences of older persons obtained from a series of focus group discussions and interviews across Nova Scotia. Individuals compare their realities of growing old with the often-theoretical assumptions of gerontologists and specialists who claim knowledge of the aging experience. In this field of study, there are few instances where the voices of older persons are heard, other than as consumers of various programs and services. Furthermore, the voices of Indigenous and African-Canadians are typically unheard. Topics covered include health care, life satisfaction, death and dying, end of life decisions, cultural differences in the aging process, spirituality and religion, ageism and discrimination, and the critique of the many stereotypes of growing older.

Perspectives from the elderly on the aging experience beyond what gerontology covers are collected in this study of the Subjective experiences of older persons. Focus groups and questionnaires are among the research methods used to gather information from diverse Canadian cultural groups, including individuals in the black and Mi` Maq communities. The particular social challenges that elderly people must face are discussed in detail, including living arrangements, income, transportation, sexuality, leisure, education, religion, healthcare, suicide, culture, and ageism. Personal stories illustrate the contrast between the medical conceptions of aging and what is really experienced.