Reframe Aging Monthly Roundtable

A monthly conversation about aging and ageism

Third Mondays of the month

12:15-1:45pm

At The Hub, 10 Broadway, Grand Marais

February 16 – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This author’s debut novel manages to weave together a delightful and heartfelt story featuring a sullen drifter, a tenacious widow, and a curmudgeonly yet charming…octopus. Soon to be a Netflix film, Remarkably Bright Creatures explores friendship, reckoning, and hope with warmth and gentle humor.

March 16 – From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Ronald S. Miller

When this book was first published in the 1990’s, it helped spark a conversation about aging beyond our culture’s typical “doom and gloom” narrative. In this updated edition, Reb Zalman reflects on his own “December Years” and offers insights into how elders can use their (hard-won) wisdom to positively impact those around them.

January 2026 – Essays at Eighty by Donald Hall

In our January selection, a former U.S. Poet Laureate reflects with beauty, humor, and candor on his past, as well as his present life as an older adult. “Most memorably, Hall writes about his enduring love affair with his ancestral Eagle Pond Farm and with the writing life that sustains him every day.”

December 2025 – Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise Aronson

Our December read was an award-winning, New York Times bestseller from Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson.  Aronson uses stories from her years of medical practice as well as her own experience and observations to “weave a vision of old age that’s neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy–a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself.”

November 2025 – Aging as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond

Our November selection provides a gentle invitation to view aging through a spiritual lens.  Using anecdotes from his years as a meditation teacher, reflections from his personal experience, and stories from the Buddhist tradition, Richmond charts “an understanding that can bring new possibilities and a wealth of appreciation and gratitude for the life journey.”

October 2025 – The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

This was our first fiction book selection! After her list-loving husband passes away, Mabel embarks on a journey that helps her gain a new perspective on her past as well as a new direction for her future. Recommended by our friends at Drury Lane Books and Care Partners Executive Director Julie Wilson, this “heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting story” speaks to the reality of loss, the gift of multi-generational friendships, and the importance of keeping ourselves open to self-discovery at any age.    

September 2025 – How to Grow Old: Ancient Wisdom for the Second Half of Life by Marcus Tullius Cicero

This selection invites readers to head WAAAAAY back to the year 44 BC to learn from none other than a Roman orator, statesman, and all-around wise guy! How to Grow Old is a short, fun read that (in the words of the publisher) “eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all–and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.”     

August 2025 – The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly by Margareta Magnusson

In her follow-up to the bestselling “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” this delightful Swedish artist shares her discoveries about aging – some difficult to accept, many “rather wondrous.” This light and lovely read includes both reflections on the author’s life and, as she puts it, “life wisdom from someone who will (probably) die before you.”    

July 2025 – The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson

This best-selling little book is the basis for a “wonderfully funny and moving ” TV series of the same name. With Scandinavian humor and wisdom, Margareta cheerfully helps her readers think about the process of decluttering as an uplifting – instead of overwhelming – journey.

June 2025 – This Chair Rocks by Ashton Applewhite

Lively, funny, and deeply researched, This Chair Rocks traces Applewhite’s journey from apprehensive boomer to pro-aging radical, and in the process debunks myth after myth about late life. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, this book will shake you by the shoulders, cheer you up, make you mad, and change the way you see the rest of your life.

May 2025 – Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Here he examines its ultimate limitations and failures―in his own practices as well as others’―as life draws to a close. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end.

April 2025 – Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It by Tracey Gendron, PhD

This bold account of the history and present-day realities of ageism by a nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker uncovers ageism’s roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood.

March 2025 – The Virtues of Aging by Jimmy Carter

Former president Jimmy Carter reflects on aging, blending memoir, anecdote, political savvy, and practical advice to truly illuminate the rich promises of growing older. The Virtues of Aging is a personal and practical book written with gentleness, humor, and love.

January & February 2025 – Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live by Becca Levy, PhD

A leading expert on the psychology of successful aging, Yale professor Levy draws on her own ground-breaking research to show how age beliefs can impact all aspects of the aging process (even how genes operate!) – and how a positive view on aging may extend life expectancy by up to 7.5 years!