In elderhood, “we seem to forget our wonder at the changes and new skills that aging can bring,” Eliza Blanchard writes in The Seasoned Soul. “This loss of our sense of awe and expectation—as well as the daily challenges of growing older—can weigh heavily on our spirits.” Which is why this retired Unitarian Universalist minister, author, and educator penned this book: “I felt an increasing need for a manual to rekindle my own sense of wonder and the possibility of some kind of achievement.”
The book consists of what Skinner House, the UU’s own publishing company, labels 87 “elegant essays.” These are, as one bookworm observes, “concise, and exquisitely crafted to challenge the reader.” Indeed, says another: “A wise, gentle, positive look at the challenges and blessings of aging. …Read this book [and] reflect upon its wisdom….”
Originally an English teacher, Blanchard underwent a mid-life career change, was ordained, and served congregations in Massachusetts, where she focused on a particular UU principle—the interdependent web of all existence.
[See this new Featured Book as a precursor to what will be posted this spring—a new Library Learnings essay that will examine the quality of life in older adults.]
The Seasoned Soul: Reflections on Growing Older
By Eliza Blanchard
Skinner House Books, 2012