Triumphs of Experience

Triumphs of Experience delves into the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken, which charts the physical and emotional health of over 200 men from their undergraduate days to their nineties. The book offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years and often become more fulfilling than before. Reporting on all aspects of male life, including relationships, politics and religion, coping strategies, and alcohol use, this study shares a number of surprising findings, such as marriages bringing much more contentment after age 70, and physical aging after 80 is determined less by heredity than by habits formed prior to age 50. This book highlights that the credit for growing old with grace and vitality goes more to ourselves than to our genetic makeup.