cover image As We Age: The Total Guide to Health and Wellness

As We Age: The Total Guide to Health and Wellness

. Beverly Cracom Publications, $44.95 (1000pp) ISBN 978-1-886657-04-5

For aging baby boomers and their elderly relatives comes this humongous, comprehensive reference source on healthy aging, edited by the director of geriatric medicine at St. Louis University and reviewed by a team of geriatricians and other health professionals. Nearly booklength sections discuss the normal changes of aging; disease prevention; common symptoms; assessment and management of numerous health conditions and diseases; and over-the-counter and prescription drugs. There is a substantial section on planning for retirement--psychologically and financially--as well as coverage of such later-life issues as Medicare costs and benefits, housing options, home health services, nursing homes and even hospice care and funeral arrangements. Illustrated with color photos and appealingly formatted with lots of special boxed material in the margins, this volume invites browsing, and its many self-evaluation forms and flow charts encourage reader involvement. Both the symptom and drug lists are arranged alphabetically for quick reference. One word of warning: the sheer size and weight of this handsome and otherwise user-friendly volume may challenge the more frail elderly. (Aug.)