Come of Age cover art

Come of Age

The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble

 Preview
Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Come of Age

Written by: Stephen Jenkinson
Narrated by: Stephen Jenkinson
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $52.39

Buy Now for $52.39

About this listen

 In his landmark provocative style, Stephen Jenkinson makes the case that we must birth a new generation of elders, one poised and willing to be true stewards of the planet and its species.

Come of Age does not offer tips on how to be a better senior citizen or how to be kinder to our elders. Rather, with lyrical prose and incisive insight, Stephen Jenkinson explores the great paradox of elderhood in North America: how we are awash in the aged and yet somehow lacking in wisdom; how we relegate senior citizens to the corner of the house while simultaneously heralding them as sage elders simply by virtue of their age. Our own unreconciled relationship with what it means to be an elder has yielded a culture nearly bereft of them. Meanwhile, the planet boils, and the younger generation boils with anger over being left an environment and sociopolitical landscape deeply scarred and broken.

Taking on the sacred cow of the family, Jenkinson argues that elderhood is a function rather than an identity—it is not a position earned simply by the number of years on the planet or the title “parent” or “grandparent.” As with his seminal book Die Wise, Jenkinson interweaves rich personal stories with iconoclastic observations that will leave readers radically rethinking their concept of what it takes to be an elder and the risks of doing otherwise. Part critique, part call to action, Come of Age is a love song inviting us—imploring us—to elderhood in this time of trouble. That time is now. We’re an hour before dawn, and first light will show the carnage, or the courage, we bequeath to the generations to come. Aging Parent Parenting & Families Relationships Religious Studies Social Sciences Solar System
All stars
Most Relevant
This book is a beautiful and poetic reflection on elderhood. Jenkinson's voice is resonant with truth and wisdom and takes the listener on a somewhat hypnotic jourmey. He doesn't give you the answers about elderhood but takes you on a journey to find your own truths. I feel privileged to have found such a gem of a book that I know I will listen to again and again.

Blessing and grace

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
He broke my heart and put it back together many times. An artist, an Elder a Warrrior with words and speech. This book is a priceless gift humanity desperately needs.

Stunning

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An inquiry into what it truly means to be and become an elder. Deeply insightful and a call to the aged step into sharing their wisdom, for those with ears to hear it. Elders in the making...

timely wisdom

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m not sure whether I’m scared at the reality we are in and the seeming lack of elders leading us through these times. Or if I’m really excited about the fact that this book draws light on our current predicaments globally and possible solution, extraction of ancient wisdom from those still alive via the life stories they contain, both from lived experience and the shared life experience told to them from their elders.

I’ll have to listen to this book more then once for the depth of knowledge to really land. Its so dense and heavy at times that I felt like I was drowning in a reality check.

But I suppose that’s the intention of this book and I honour that deeply.

Relax into the rapids as we make our way to calmer waters.

I know I’ll be asking more of the aged around me from now on. And I hope that anyone reading this book does too. And yes, that means those younger then me are open to demanding more of me as well.

A plea for elders

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.