Age Wave C

Dychtwald, 38, a psychologist and gerontologist, has spent the past 15 years researching and speaking about the abilities and strengths of the elderly. With freelance writer Flowers, he focuses here on the aging of the baby boom generation, predicting an ``age wave'' that will change society and challenge its gerontophobic myths because of the quality of life the boomers have come to expect. Many troubling statistics about aging reappearthe rising numbers of the frailest 85-plus group, the preponderance of single (usually widowed) women, the lower ratio of children to parentsbut the book's interest lies in its creative proposals: volunteer service credits that can be drawn on in later life, ``matrix families'' made up of adult peers living together, corporate ``parent care'' benefits, even lifestyle experiments such as man-sharing. 150,000 first printing, $100,000 ad/promo; first serial to Family Circle; BOMC, QPBC and Fortune Book Club alternates. (Jan.)