7 honest books on ageing that are good for the soul
2. 'This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage' by Ann Patchett
Above 'This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage' (Photo: Bloomsbury Paperbacks)
Though this isn't a book on ageing, the undercurrent of time's passage runs through every essay. Ann Patchett brings a novelist's discipline to nonfiction: her sentences are crisp, her stories layered. She writes about the long arc of friendship, the slow-building nature of creative work and what it means to live alone by choice. Her reflections are rarely framed as epiphanies; instead, they unfold gradually, shaped by age, habit and hard-won self-knowledge. For readers seeking quiet insight rather than dramatic reinvention, this collection offers exactly that. 3. 'No Time To Spare' by Ursula K Le Guin
Above 'No Time To Spare' (Photo: Mariner Books)
Ursula K Le Guin, best known for her speculative fiction, turned her sharp gaze inward in her final years, publishing essays that read like conversations with a brilliant, slightly irritable aunt. She writes about cats, breakfast and the arrogance of youth—subjects that seem small but reveal her larger argument: that old age is not a diminishing, but a different kind of richness. Her tone is brisk and occasionally cranky, especially when addressing ageism or internet culture. Among books on ageing, this one is notable for resisting both complaint and inspiration; Le Guin is simply living, and thinking, out loud. 4. 'A Life's Work' by Rachel Cusk
Above 'A Life's Work' (Photo: Picador Paper)
Ostensibly a book about early motherhood, A Life's Work is in fact a study of identity breakdown—a theme that mirrors the emotional terrain of ageing. Rachel Cusk interrogates the body's mutiny, the evaporation of former selves and the awkward collisions between expectation and reality. Her prose is spare and confrontational, stripped of the usual maternal glow. What makes it relevant to ageing is its unsentimental treatment of transformation: the sense of becoming unrecognisable to oneself. If you're looking for a book that insists on intellectual and emotional honesty, even when it's uncomfortable, Cusk delivers. 5. 'This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism' by Ashton Applewhite
Above 'This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism' (Photo: Celadon Books)
Ashton Applewhite isn't interested in gently guiding readers into acceptance, but in dismantling the entire system of cultural ageism. Backed by research and fuelled by righteous irritation, her book calls out the ways society marginalises older people, especially women. She tackles everything from workplace discrimination to the cult of youth in media with sharp wit and unflinching analysis. Unlike many books about ageing that focus on coping strategies, this one demands structural change. It's energising, at times confrontational, and deeply clarifying—particularly for readers tired of being told to age 'gracefully'. 6. 'Late Migrations' by Margaret Renkl
Above 'Late Migrations' (Photo: Milkweed Editions)
Margaret Renkl, a columnist for The New York Times , blends personal essays with observations from the natural world in this quiet but resonant book on ageing. She writes about the deaths of her parents, the slow rhythm of her Southern backyard and the brief but meaningful rituals of family life. There is a calm attentiveness to her voice, even when describing loss. The book doesn't offer solutions, just presence. Its approach to ageing is reflective rather than corrective—Renkl lets the reader sit with time, rather than race against it. Among books on ageing, this one stands out for its stillness. 7. 'The Year of Magical Thinking' by Joan Didion
Above 'The Year of Magical Thinking' (Photo: Vintage)
A clinical, unsparing portrait of grief, this book is often shelved under 'bereavement', but it also speaks profoundly to ageing's disorienting effects. Didion documents the year after her husband's sudden death with the precision of a surgeon. She tracks her irrational thinking, her physical exhaustion and the ways time can warp under trauma. There's no comfort here, no platitude—just the cold light of loss. What it offers is not catharsis but clarity. For anyone facing ageing as a series of absences—of people, of faculties, of certainty—Joan Didion's account feels devastatingly accurate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
14 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
NIFL Board set for new look: ‘A number of key skill sets are missing'
The Northern Ireland Football League Board is set for a new look going forward with Chief Executive Gerard Lawlor declaring that having a make-up of more 'Independents' than officials connected to clubs for the first time is a 'progressive' step and will bring key skill sets into the game. With Board members Keith Boyd (Dungannon Swifts) and Nigel Lecky (Dergview) not seeking re-election following the end of their term, earlier this month at NIFL's AGM members voted overwhelmingly in favour of appointing 'new key independent industry professionals'.
Edinburgh Live
14 minutes ago
- Edinburgh Live
Brit gobsmacked by prices in 'unreal' Spanish supermarket and warns 'we've been had'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Brits have become all too accustomed to forking out a small fortune for groceries in UK supermarkets, but venturing abroad can be a real eye-opener. For Cavan O'Grady, a trip to Spain with his mum to celebrate her 63rd birthday was a wake-up call. While staying with his aunt in La Línea de la Concepción, near Gibraltar, it was a visit to a local Carrefour supermarket that left him speechless. Basking in the 30-degree sunshine was a bonus, but what really caught Cavan's attention was the staggering difference in food prices compared to back home. The 27 year old from Birmingham took to social media, captioning a clip: "Spanish supermarkets are a different level". READ MORE - Chris Tarrant savages Phillip Schofield as he points out 'nasty little trick' READ MORE - Brooklyn Beckham's decision could leave sister Harper 'devastated' amid family feud As he wandered the aisles, he exclaimed: "TikTok, I'm going to tell you something, Spain knows how to do it in these supermarkets." Cavan was blown away by the sheer scale of the store and the freshness of the produce on offer. "This would make you want to eat like a king out here. And do you know what, price-wise, it's so much cheaper here than it is back home.", reports the Mirror. For Cavan, this was just another reason to love visiting Spain – a clear "win" in his books. One local expressed gratitude, saying: "Thank you very much for saying what no one ever says, there is good agriculture, livestock, fishing, we have everything in our country." Another person enthused: "Mercadona is one of the crown jewels." Sharing her experience, one woman said: "I live in Spain, it's a lot cheaper to live there than in the UK, the bills are cheaper too,". There were some comments suggesting that "Spain was a paradise not long ago," but lamented that now it's become "too expensive" relative to incomes. (Image: Jam Press) (Image: Jam Press) (Image: Jam Press) Cav revealed his realisation about UK prices by stating: "It showed me how we're getting absolutely had on products in the UK. I was genuinely overwhelmed by the quality and prices on offer in that Spanish supermarket." Beyond the grocery shopping experience, he was also blown away by the local gym facilities, rating them a perfect "10/10". Describing his fitness pursuits, he said: "I wanted to find a proper bodybuilding gym, which I found, and the gym is sick, the equipment's sick, and the locals are really nice and friendly," and assured that he'd be returning to that gym during his stay with his mum. In a further video comment, Cav suggested a change might be on the horizon: "TikTok, I might actually move to Spain [...] This is the life for me... Might have to be a quick move here, lads".
Mint
14 minutes ago
- Mint
The stock-market rally is moving beyond Big Tech and investors are thrilled
The summer stock rally is broadening beyond big tech. Megacap technology stocks such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Broadcom led the market's rapid, tariff-spurred selloff earlier this year, only to rebound just as quickly a few weeks later when trade fears eased. Now, with economic fears diminished and optimism growing that the Trump administration will take a milder stance on trade, the recovery has expanded to include stocks across a more diverse group of sectors, such as financials, industrials and utilities. The number of stocks in the benchmark S&P 500 closing above their 50-day moving average has climbed recently to levels last seen in the fall, before Donald Trump's election victory launched an end-of-year rally. And in another sign of breadth, a measure that tracks the number of stocks rising versus those declining notched a new high on Friday. While the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks still hold investors' attention—and sway over the market—a broader participation in the recovery has helped propel the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 to all-time-highs in June. It could also signal that stocks will keep climbing through the summer, analysts say. 'We've seen this before: big tech leads and the market follows," said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. 'It seems like we are dusting off that playbook." Wall Street generally views improving breadth as a signal of a healthy stock market and a sustained advance. Whether the trend continues will depend on a few uncertainties still looming in the second half of the year: potential conflict in the Middle East, the path of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the final outcome of President Trump's tariff plans. 'As long as things can stay stable, then this market is not exhausted by any stretch of the imagination," said Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report, a market analysis firm. Market breadth has improved as investors who missed out on tech stocks' historic rebound search for new opportunities in different industries, Essaye said. He called it the 'FOMO trade," referencing the acronym for 'fear of missing out." Others have made longer-term bets in less popular industries. Jamie Cox, a managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Va., didn't increase his proportion of big-tech holdings over the past few months even as prices dipped. But in recent weeks, his strategy—which includes a blend of defense, financial and large-cap international shares—has started to pay off. 'I'm surprised it took this long," he said. 'It's been a long time coming." Cox, who manages $1.2 billion at Harris, said that, in recent months, he has heard from clients looking to diversify the stocks in their portfolios. 'That lends itself to owning different things than just the most effective of the tech stocks," he said, such as shares of defense contractors Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp. 'You buy the less-aggressive, more tried-and-true, boring stocks." The recovery hasn't worked its way through every corner of the market. Small-cap stocks still lag behind major indexes. It might take a significant shift in the outlook to change that, said George Pearkes, macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group. 'We would have to see a change in risk appetite." Some investors think that a confidence boost could come sooner than expected. Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management, said he is adding midcap, small-cap and even microcap companies. He is buying shares of domestic banks that he thinks won't be affected by future tariffs, and said the Fed's rate cut could also boost smaller firms. 'The broadening out that we've seen over the last number of months is not something that's going to be short-lived," Teal said. It is unlikely that the market's biggest tech names will fade into the background soon, analysts said. Optimism for artificial intelligence, which powered tech stocks' ascendance to new highs, is still top-of-mind for professional and individual investors alike. But as tech shares have rebounded, so have valuations: Some large-cap names traded at more than 30 times their expected earnings over the next year last week, compared with an S&P 500 average of about 22 times. Those rich prices could be another nudge for traders to start snapping up shares in different industries, said Brian Buetel, a managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management. 'Nobody disagrees that the Mag Seven are just extremely expensive," he said. 'People forget there are sectors of the market that are on sale—that are cheap." Write to Hannah Erin Lang at and Roshan Fernandez at
