Counterclockwise: Reflections of a Maverick

A study of what old age means and especially what its delights are, Drury's (Advice to a Young Wife from an Old Mistress, etc.) book will bring both enlightenment and pleasure to readers of all ages, but particularly to those over 60. She does not shrink from dealing with such negative aspects of aging as declining health but urges battling against them as much as possible. She dismisses a fixation on time, pointing out that in one sense time does not exist, however much its measurement seems to belie that. She rejoices that she is beyond love in the sentimental and romantic sense, because love demands a gullibility that she feels the old should have outgrown. But her chief concern is that the elderly should keep working, whether to make money or to give service to others, for in our society work defines and bestows dignity upon the individual. Drury urges living without vanity to avoid becoming crabbed and afraid. (May 14)