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The Lioness in Winter

Writing an Old Woman's Life
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( 46 ratings, 12 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Lioness in Winter by Ann Burack-Weiss is a deeply reflective exploration of ageing through the lens of celebrated women authors who have transformed their later years into profound literary art. Drawing on over forty years of professional experience and personal insight, Burack-Weiss intertwines analysis of works by Maya Angelou, Simone de Beauvoir, Joan Didion, and others with her own journey, addressing themes such as loss, joy, disability, and mortality. This book serves as an inspirational companion for older women and their caregivers, offering wisdom and strength drawn from the triumphs and trials of ageing.
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Format: Hardback
$16799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for older women seeking wisdom and solidarity in their later years, as well as caregivers, social workers, and anyone interested in the literature and lived experience of ageing from a female perspective.

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A gerontological social worker--now in her seventies--draws on the late-life writing of noted women authors for emotional and practical guidance as she navigates aging.

In The Lioness in Winter, Burack-Weiss blends an analysis of key writings from famed women authors with her own wisdom to create an essential companion for older women and those who care for them. She fearlessly examines issues such as living with loss, finding comfort and joy in unexpected places, and facing disability and death. This book is filled with powerful passages from women who turned their experiences of aging into art, and Burack-Weiss ties their words to her own struggles and epiphanies, framing their collective observations with key insights from social work practice.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

When she started working with the aged more than forty years ago, Ann Burack-Weiss began storing the knowledge and skills she thought would help when she got old herself. It was not until she hit her mid-seventies that she realized she had packed sneakers to climb Mount Everest, not anticipating the crevices and chasms that constitute the rocky terrain of old age.

The professional gerontological and social work literature offered little help, so she turned to the late-life works of beloved women authors who had bravely climbed the mountain and sent back news from the summit. Maya Angelou, Colette, Simone de Beauvoir, Joan Didion, Marguerite Duras, M. F. K. Fisher, Doris Lessing, Mary Oliver, Adrienne Rich, May Sarton, and Florida Scott-Maxwell were among the many guides she turned to for inspiration.

In The Lioness in Winter, Burack-Weiss blends an analysis of key writings from these and other famed women authors with her own wisdom to create an essential companion for older women and those who care for them. She fearlessly examines issues such as living with loss, finding comfort and joy in unexpected places, and facing disability and death.

This book is filled with powerful passages from women who turned their experiences of aging into art, and Burack-Weiss ties their words to her own struggles and epiphanies, framing their collective observations with key insights from social work practice.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise The Lioness in Winter for its eloquence and insightful perspective. Kate de Medeiros highlights Burack-Weiss's unique vantage point as both a gerontologist and someone living the experience of ageing, noting its informed and important voice. Arlene Heyman commends the book for its beautiful language and the powerful, uplifting passages from women who turn their hardships into art, recommending it as a source of memorable and inspiring writings.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780231151849

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 13 October 2015

Country: United States

Imprint: Columbia University Press

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 208

About the Author

Ann Burack-Weiss is a social work practitioner, educator, and consultant who taught two generations of students at the Columbia School of Social Work and is now an associate faculty member in Columbia's Program of Narrative Medicine. She is also the author of The Caregiver's Tale: Loss and Renewal in Memoirs of Family Life (Columbia, 2006).

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