Mental Fitness for Life

Sandra Cusack, Ph.D.,
and Wendy Thompson, M.A.,
Foreword by Marian Diamond, Ph.D.,
Afterword by Arnold Scheibel, M.D

Amid the growing concern about an aging population here is a book that builds on real research, not media hype. It is grounded in the work of professionals who have looked at the issues of aging in great detail for well over a decade. Mental Fitness For Life debunks the idea that most people slip into their dotage in the years after 60 and outlines how to use a proven, successful approach to keeping an alert and active mind throughout life. The research from key programs at UC Berkeley, UCLA Medical Center, Harvard, and the University of Pittsburgh (and many others) all agree on the profound benefits of lifelong learning. These studies show mental fitness to be at least as important as physical fitness and that an active mind is an essential key to healthy and productive aging.

• Bright new book in RAPIDLY GROWING field of active aging
• Most up-to-date book references to current resources for the 50+crowd
• Filled with practical how-to exercises and the why-to to back it up
• Takes mental fitness as seriously as physical fitness

The approach rests on seven key areas:

• The fundamental importance of Goal Setting
• Leaving old beliefs behind with what the authors call Power Thinking
• Approaching problems in radically different ways to find new Creativity
• Believing that a Positive Mental Attitude can be learned
• Understanding the vital linkage of Memory and Learning
• Finding the skills of self-expression in Speaking Your Mind
• Putting together a program and strategies that lead to staying Mentally Fit for Life

The research is there to back up the ideas and the program found in Mental Fitness For Life and they can work for anyone who wants to develop an agile and productive mind throughout life. All it takes is a willingness to begin...

Rave Reviews

"Old Age is not for sissies...We are not limited by old age but rather liberated by it." —London Free Press

Table of Contents

Foreword by Dr. Marian Diamond
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction to Mental Fitness
STEP 1 - Goal Setting: Finding Your Purpose and Passion
STEP 2 - Power Thinking: Going Beyond the Words
STEP 3 - Creativity: Out of the Box and Over the Moon
STEP 4 - Positive Mental Attitude
STEP 5 - Memory and Learning: Learning and Memory
STEP 6 - Speaking Your Mind
STEP 7 - Mentally Fit for Life
Afterword by Dr. Arnold Scheibel

Authors

Sandra Cusack and Wendy Thompson have won awards for their work in this field: 1997 Research Award for Innovative Programming; 2004 Educators Award from Delta Kappa Gamma International; 2005 Mind Alert Award from the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging.

Sandra Cusack, Ph.D. is Guttman-Gee Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor in Educational Gerontology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada and the author of numerous research papers in Third Age Education. She is a member of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging.

Wendy Thompson, M.A. is an educational gerontologist and the author of five books. A former Olympic speed skater, she has encouraged thousands, as a speaker and trainer, to create extraordinary lives whether they are 33 or 103.