Holstein, a feminist scholar of aging, has written a compelling book about the distinctive challenges facing older women in the contemporary US. Older women share universal challenges ranging from biological aging to both subtle and overt ageism, yet their lived experiences vary widely based on their social locations—including race, social class, sexual orientation, (dis)ability status, and even physical appearance. The author integrates personal insights drawn from her experiences as a septuagenarian woman scholar with empirical social science research, critical gerontology theory, descriptions of cultural forces that (dis)empower older women, and informal interviews with the women of Mayslake, an independent living facility outside Chicago. The book builds on two additional themes. First, power informs both how one ages and the organization of resources, opportunities, and benefits afforded to older women. Second, ‘old’ should not be a devalued and stigmatized status, but one that is celebrated and respected. These themes set the foundation for substantive chapters on ageism, chronic illness, long-term care, retirement, end-of-life care, and activism. Holstein provides a thought-provoking and intimate tutorial into the lives and challenges of contemporary older women. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Choice Reviews

In many ways, this volume represents Martha Holstein’s tour de force as a feminist scholar of aging, as an activist, and as an ethicist. Here we have a beautifully written book that combines the personal and the political; it employs both interdisciplinary and critical gerontological and feminist perspectives. Holstein does not shy away from the complexities and challenges of aging, including end-of-life issues. Yet she also empowers us to take charge of our aging and to shape it despite the powerful ageist cultural messages that permeate our daily lives. Indeed, she gives us a template for disrupting dominant ways of thinking about old age, in general, and thinking about old women, in particular. . . .Those of us who teach aging courses to both undergraduates and graduates would do well to require our students to read this book—the content alone justifies this requirement, but there is an added bonus in that the author provides a superb and compelling model of feminist scholarship and writing. . . .In this book Martha Holstein has not only given us a comprehensive, critical, and bold exploration of gender and age, she has additionally provided us a template for how to bring about much needed change.

The Gerontologist

In her new book, Women in Late Life: Critical Perspectives on Gender and Age, author Martha Holstein has given educators, gerontologists, health professionals, and care-givers a beautifully written treatise on aging, women as we grow older (she’s reluctant to use the term 'old'), and gender and age as the political and cultural issues they are in today’s society….Women in Late Life is a valuable addition to the libraries of graduate students of gerontology, to healthcare providers in institutional, community and residential settings, to policy-makers in a variety of organizations serving women as they age, and to caregivers for women who are aging. The book is easily accessible without jargon or oppressive academic language, interspersed with engaging and authentic stories that bring life to the issues raised, and beautifully crafted for all audiences.

Educational Gerontology

Holstein’s outstanding book is eloquently argued, providing a novel critical and feminist perspective on gender and late life. Written by a feminist scholar, reflexive about her own aging, this carefully crafted, insightful book is destined to become a social science classic.

Sara Arber, Professor, Co-Director, Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender (CRAG), University of Surrey, UK

Holstein provides an unflinchingly critical examination of dominant culture’s construction of aging as a personal and moral responsibility to age “successfully.” Her treatment of the subject is thorough, providing discussions of both the construction’s resonance with the prevailing neoliberal political agenda and its numerous social and psychological costs, particularly for women. The book is a compelling and much-needed call for scholars and activists to challenge this construction and replace it with women’s diverse, honest stories that can collectively bring about social change.

Anne Barrett, Florida State University

When reading Martha Holstein’s book, I felt that for the first time I could see myself through the lens of aging, which is a frightening yet liberating thing to experience. As a female gerontologist approaching 50, I find myself struggling with culturally embedded issues of aging in ways that my formal research training had not prepared me for. Although I thought I knew some things about later life, this book reminded me that there are deeply rooted complexities tied to age that threaten personal identity on the personal and political level. Framed by strong critical theory, the personal insights lends an authenticity and immediacy to discussions of ageism, productivity, chronic illness, and other topics. I want all of my students to read this book so that they work to dismantle the fictions about later life and advocate for change.

Kate de Medeiros, professor of sociology and gerontology, Miami University