Love and Aging: A Valentine's Day List

Love and Aging: A Valentine’s Day List of Books and Films

Away from Her (2007). Julie Christie has been winning slews of awards, deservedly, for her tender portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer’s. This is really, though, the story of a 40-year marriage and how it adapts when Christie’s character, Fiona, moves into a nursing facility and attaches herself to another resident. A remarkable story—not perfect, certainly, but beautifully written and acted. (PG-rated; 110 min.; directed by Sarah Polley)

Crossing to Safety (Wallace Stegner, 1987). Stegner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, beautifully tells the story of two couples who form a deep friendship during the Depression, intertwining their lives for the next several decades. We get an inside view on their marriages, their friendships, their personal tragedies, their very human-ness.

For Better or for Worse … But Not for Lunch: Making Marriage Work in Retirement (Sara Yogev, 2001). Originally released just before September 11, 2001, promotions for this book were overshadowed by world events, and it truly deserves a much larger readership. Yogev, a Chicago-area psychologist specializing in work-family issues, offers a solid guide to strengthening love relationships in the midst of often-unexpected challenges such as “too much togetherness,” differing views on time and responsibility for children and grandchildren, and tension over finances and future goals.

Harold and Maude (1971). A funny, quirky film, one of my all-time favorites, about a unique love match between a full-of-life 79-year-old woman (played by Ruth Gordon) and a death-obsessed young man (Bud Cort). The pair meet at a funeral then develop an affectionate relationship through which Maude teaches Harold to truly enjoy life and love. (PG-rated; 91 min.; directed by Hal Ashby)

Love in the 90s: B.B. & Jo - The Story of a Lifelong Love : A Granddaughter's Portrait (Keri Pickett, 1995). A beautiful tribute to the author’s grandparents and their nearly-70-year love story. Pickett’s black-and-white photographs of B.B. and Jo are stunning on their own, but gain a certain depth from being interspersed among old photos and love letters exchanged by the couple in the 1920s.

Still Doing It: Women & Men Over 60 Write About Their Sexuality (Joani Blank, Editor; Down There Press, 2000). The writers featured in this unusual collection of stories share their personal experiences of sexuality and aging. The editor, a sex therapist/educator over 60 herself, has gathered stories that are often surprising, always honest, and at times quite graphic (in the descriptions of sexual behaviors). Includes experiences of straight, gay, and bisexual writers.



Now that you’ve read my list, please feel free to email us your own favorites at info@willowwellness.com. Thank you!