The Third Chapter by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

The Third Chapter by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

We must develop a compelling vision of later life: one that does not assume a trajectory of decline after fifty, but one that recognizes it as a time of change, grown, and new learning; a time when 'our courage gives us hope.' --from The Third Chapter

At a key moment in the twenty-first century, demographers are recognizing the significance of a distinct developmental phase: those years following early adulthood and middle age when we are neither young nor old. Whether by choice or not, many in their third chapters are finding ways to adapt, explore, and channel their energies, skills, and passions in new ways and into new areas.

It's this process of creative reinvention that the renowned sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot details in The Third Chapter, which redefines our views about the casualties and opportunities of aging. She challenges the still-prevailing and anachronistic images of aging by documenting and revealing how the years between fifty and seventy-five may, in fact, be the most transformative and generative time in our lives, tracing the ways in which wisdom, experience, and new learning inspire individual growth and cultural transformation.

The Third Chapter is not a how-to guide but a fascinating work of sociology, full of passionate and poignant stories of risk and vulnerability, failure and resilience, challenge and mastery, experimentation and improvisation, and insight and new learning. These stories reveal a whole world of learning and discovery awaiting those who want it. In The Third Chapter, Lawrence-Lightfoot captures a new moment in history and offers us a book rich with insight and hope about our endless capacity for change and growth.

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a sociologist, is a professor of education at Harvard University, where, since 1972, she has studied the culture of schools, families, and communities. She is the author of eight books, including The Good High School, Respect, I've Known Rivers, and Balm in Gilead, which won the 1988 Christopher Award for literary merit and humanitarian achievement. In 1984, she was the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Prize Fellowship. In 1993, she was awarded Harvard's George Ledlie Prize for research that makes the most valuable contribution to science and is to the benefit of mankind. She is the first African-American woman in Harvard's history to have an endowed professorship named in her honor.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780374275495
ISBN 10	0374275491
Title	The Third Chapter
Author	Sara Lawrence Lightfoot
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
Year published	2009-01-06
Number of pages	260
Prizes	Winner of Nautilus Award (Aging Gracefully) 2010
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable