Do you get the sense that something's just not quite right with Mum, Grandpa or yourself?Does your family avoid having the big conversations about ageing?
Are you confused and overwhelmed?
You are not alone.
With over a decade of experience specialising in older people's mental health and dementia in Australia, clinical psychologist Melissa Levi has helped more than a thousand older people, and their families, navigate the ageing journey. While every family's story is unique, Melissa has come to know that we all share common fears and questions about ageing - the same questions that her own family had when her grandfather was diagnosed with dementia.
In
We Need to Talk About Ageing, Melissa encourages us to understand that while getting older is inevitable, the experience doesn't need to be overwhelming, or clouded with uncertainty or confusion. Melissa provides expert information on what to expect as you get older, how to identify symptoms of common medical and psychiatric conditions in later life, and, most importantly, what you can do and where to go for help.
Melissa also shares practical strategies, tips and discussion prompts, so you and your family are equipped to have the big conversations about ageing and are empowered to plan for the future. This book will help you to clarify your options, find your way through the aged-care maze, make informed, values-aligned decisions, and ultimately experience greater meaning, joy and connection.
We Need to Talk About Ageing is a comprehensive guide that will empower your family to navigate the ageing journey with confidence and hope.
About the Author
Melissa Levi is a clinical psychologist specialising in older people's mental health and dementia. With over a decade of experience at one of Australia's leading hospitals, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Melissa has helped more than a thousand older people and their families. She is also an honorary clinical fellow, lecturing for the Master of Clinical Psychology program at the University of Technology Sydney and a co-author of
The St Vincent's Hospital Handbook of Clinical Psychogeriatrics.
Melissa is committed to educating and empowering families to eliminate fear and uncertainty about later life by better understanding ageing, having the big conversations and planning for the future, so they can take control of their ageing journeys. This mission was the inspiration for
We Need to Talk About Ageing, as well as her online platform,
Talking Ageing - resources she wishes had been available for her own family when her grandfather was diagnosed with dementia.
Industry Reviews
'We all MUST talk about old age and cognitive impairment, and this stellar book shows the way! An absolute must read!' - Associate Professor David Burke, Discipline of Psychiatry, UNDA Sydney
'Warm and compassionate, Melissa offers sound clinical information and practical advice . . . Sure to be helpful for all families.' - Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, UNSW Sydney
'This is a book as full of heart as it is help ... There are many practical insights in this book, all of them delivered in a relatable way, from the sort of psychologist you'd love your ageing parents to meet.' - BOOKS+PUBLISHING