Blessings and Burdens

The Gift of Years is a book for those of us who don’t feel old, whatever our chronological age, but who one day realize with a kind of numbing astonishment that we have not managed to elude aging. We are now called “seniors” or “elders” or “the older generation,” even “elderly” by the young ones around us, despite the fact that we feel no different now than we did a year ago.

Inside we know ourselves to be coming out of one part of life and going into another -clinging to one but unable to stop ourselves from slipping into the other. And we don’t know quite what to think about it. Is this the end of everything we know to be good and fulfilling in life?

That depends on whether or not we know what to look for as the later years come, says author Joan Chittister. The Gift of Years teaches us how to embrace the blessings of this time and navigate the burdens. It is time to understand that the last phase of life is not non-life; it is a new stage of life.

This online book study meets weekly
beginning Thursday, July 2,
4 to 5:15 p.m.
Participants will read 2 chapters each week on their own,
gather for a brief intro using Zoom software,
then break into Zoom discussion groups of 6 to 8.
The initial study runs for 6 weeks but will continue if the group wishes.

No cost for this study.

To indicate interest and learn more details, email to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.

This online study is one of our Wisdom Circles — companions who come together around a particular topic to share the blessings and the challenges of the older-adult years. Lean more about Wisdom Circles here.