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The second half of life is potentially the time of greatest growth and individuation in a person's life. However, all too often, women in Western society view midlife as the beginning of the end. This, maintains Dr. Karen Kaigler-Walker, is tragic, for when women equate self-worth with socially dictated standards of youthful attractiveness, they run the risk of failing to fully develop their true selves. In Positive Aging, Dr. Kaigler-Walker illuminates the quest women must take to free themselves from this cultural trap to enjoy the fruits that aging can bring. Identifying the problem as essentially one of the spirit, she guides the reader in a step-by-step process to heal the wounds caused by such social standards. Through myths, fairy tales, and a series of practical exercises, the reader will learn to love herself and make conscious choices about her appearance - choices that reflect her midlife wisdom and inherent beauty.

softcover

Kaigler-Walker (marketing and psychology, Woodbury Univ.) has spent over 20 years researching women and their attitudes toward their own appearance. While her latest effort might be dismissed by some as another woman "singing her mid-life song," it is as much a scholar's explanation of aging, filled with literary references. The book starts slowly; Chapter 1 is uninspired, offering a familiar litany of how shocking it is to see the first signs of aging and a quiz to determine attitudes about appearance. The work picks up as Kaigler-Walker discusses the Demeter myth and then gives us a quick 10,000-year history of woman's role in society. A Jungian by training, she helps readers to understand the female psyche using fairy tales and myths and hopes that as readers learn the deeper, universal truths about bodies and beauty, they can reprogram their opinions about their appearances. She draws out amazing symbolism from the Cinderella and Snow White tales, for instance. This is not a how-to but a why book, explaining why we think the way we do about aging. Recommended for libraries supporting women's studies and psychology courses.Susan E. Burdick, MLS, Reading, Pa.

One copy in inventory. Once sold no more available.