101: Re-visioning Aging: The Treasures of Later Life

Women In-Depth: Conversations about the Inner Lives of Women

“We become women of all seasons.”

Our culture often associates negativity with aging. We dread what may come with age, despite mounting evidence that our worse fears are less likely than we think. Dr. Susan Stewart began examining this contradiction after encountering some rather heartening messages in myths, folktales, psychology, and gerontology that just encourage us to embrace and even look forward to the winter of our lives. Join Dr. Viado this week as she and Dr. Stewart discuss negative cultural messaging; the different dimensions of aging; and our lives in review.

Dr. Susan Stewart has been a Professor of Psychology for over thirty years (now emerita) at Sonoma State University, and is a retired therapist and a grandmother to four. She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the age 26 and was a Marriage and Family Therapist for many years.

Her exploration of aging began in 2000 as she immersed herself into the myths and folktales after a series of encounters with the word crone. In place of the wicked and ugly portrayals she expected to find, she discovered some very inspiring old women.

She was compelled to share her discoveries after finding that gerontologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and others were describing similar discoveries in late life development. She began to spread the word about the under-appreciated gifts of age in her classes, papers, presentations, and workshops. On the eve of turning 70, she completed Winter’s Graces: The Surprising Gifts of Later Life in which she weaves together folktales, themes from the world’s wisdom and spiritual traditions, current findings in gerontology and other fields, stories of her own and those of other older women, and characters of film - all of which reflect late-life qualities like contentment, agelessness, simplicity, and fierceness.

When she’s not enjoying the company of her four grandchildren, singing, dancing or playing her cello, Susan continues to make presentations and offer workshops on the gifts of late life. She is most passionate about sharing the gifts of late life in a culture that mistakenly equates old age with debilitating decline. She has found that stories, along with recent research; visual images of elders; and the opportunity for participants to reflect on and share their own attitudes and experiences of aging, are a potent mixture.

To find more information about Dr. Stewart:

https://wintersgraces.com/

https://wintersgraces.com/blog/

https://www.facebook.com/susanaverystewart/

In This Episode, Dr. Viado and Dr. Susan Stewart Discuss:

• The True Story of the Crone
• The Winter of Life
• The Role of Elders in American Culture
• Changes in the Perception of Chronological Age