Nonfiction

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End – Atul Gawande
A compassionate exploration of aging and end-of-life choices, focusing on what truly matters.
The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully – Joan Chittister
Essays on embracing aging with gratitude, wisdom, and renewed purpose.
This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism – Ashton Applewhite
A lively and empowering book challenging negative stereotypes of aging.
Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old – John Leland
Stories from elders in their 80s and 90s about joy, love, and meaning in later life.
Aging as a Spiritual Practice – Lewis Richmond
Blends mindfulness and reflection on finding peace and cherishing life’s later years.
The Art of Growing Old: Aging with Grace – Marie de Hennezel
Encourages acceptance and gratitude for the gifts of aging.
A Long Bright Future – Laura L. Carstensen
Explores emotional resilience and thriving as life expectancy increases.

Our Souls at Night – Kent Haruf
A tender novel about love, companionship, and joy in later years.
The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
A reflective story of memory, regret, and cherishing what remains.
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson
A whimsical adventure celebrating vitality and humor in old age.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson
A witty, heartwarming story about tradition, change, and late-in-life love.
Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
A moving account of wisdom, memory, and cherishing human connection.
The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields
Pulitzer-winning novel chronicling one woman’s reflections on life and aging.
No! I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club – Virginia Ironside
A witty diary-style novel about embracing aging with honesty and humor.