Ageing Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life

Imprint. In a series of studies, Harvard Medical School followed 824 subjects, men and women, rich and poor, from their teens to old age. Based on these studies, this book evaluates ageing and offers the secrets to reaching a happy, healthy old age.

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Ageing Well is the first book ever to scientifically evaluate ageing and offer the secrets to doing it successfully, from the director of the longest and most complete study of adult development in the world. In an unprecedented series of studies, Harvard Medical School has followed 824 subjects - men and women, some rich, some poor - from their teens to old age. Harvard's George Vaillant now uses these studies (the most complete ever done anywhere in the world) and the subjects' individual histories to illustrate the factors involved in reaching a happy, healthy old age. Dr Vaillant explains precisely why some people turn out to be more resilient than others, the complicated effects of marriage and divorce, negative personality changes, and how to live a more fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding life in the later years. He shows why a person's background has less to do with their eventual happiness than the specific lifestyle choices they make. And he offers step-by-step advice about how each of us can change our lifestyles and age successfully.