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We’re living longer – let’s live better!

Getting older should be something to enjoy and celebrate. And it can be.

Research shows that we can make a big difference to how well we age. From staying active to connecting with others, this uplifting book shares the secrets to ageing well in eight steps, to help keep you healthy and happy. Each step has easy-to-follow tips, alongside inspiring words both ancient and modern… and more!

Whether you choose to follow some of the advice or all, this is the perfect guide for living a more fulfilled, healthy and joyful life.

Reviews

I commend this book to everyone of all ages, and let us all age joyfully!
Dame Judi Dench
This is an outstanding book. It carries a clear message and expresses a clear philosophy, namely that we need to transform the way we think about living longer. Science has now made clear that even though there is a process called ageing, a normal biological process which does have some effects, these effects are relatively insignificant until the late nineties. Most of the problems people face are preventable and remediable, and the book not only explains this but gives advice, insight and encouragement. It speaks from the heart, from an author who has knowledge and experience. It is a manifesto for living better longer.
Sir Muir Gray, CBE, FRCPSGlas, FCLIP, Professor and Consultant in Public Health, Oxford University; author of Sod 70!; first Chief Knowledge Officer for the NHS and creator of NHS Choices
A fun and savvy guide to putting more life in your years.
Carl Honoré, writer and broadcaster; author of In Praise of Slow and Bolder: Making the Most of our Longer Lives
As a society, we should be celebrating the extraordinary gift of longer life that we have been given by the last century's advances in public health, nutrition and medicine. But instead, our ageing population is all too often presented as a problem rather than a gift, and ageist stereotypes and age discrimination are everywhere - in our media, our workplaces, our towns, and in our own worries and attitudes about growing old. How to Age Joyfully is a welcome antidote to this fearful, negative view of ageing, and a rich resource of ideas and evidence for how to enjoy your own later life.
Catherine Foot, Director of Evidence, Centre for Ageing Better
Full of wit, wisdom - and hope!
Gyles Brandreth, writer and broadcaster
Knowing how passionate Maggy is about having a positive approach to ageing, it is no surprise to me that her book is bursting full of inspiration and suggestions on how to do just that. Her tips align with Open Age's mission and actions for increasing the well-being and social connectedness of our members. It is evidence not only of her passion, but also her generosity, that Open Age will benefit from sales, allowing us to carry on helping many more people to age joyfully. Thank you, Maggy.
Iain Cassidy, CEO, Open Age
Maggy has written so passionately about her own experience of discovering the joys and benefits of dance that I feel she can't fail to convince others. She has brought so much energy and enthusiasm to our dance group and her book shows very clearly and forcefully that there is a whole new world out there awaiting the older dancer - and all of us.
Barbara Berkeley-Hill, Chair, Sage Dance Company
Old age is being redefined and this is an essential book for today's new world. It is full of positive actions to maximise enjoyment of our added years in this amazing period of life.
Joyce Williams MBE FCSP, aka blogger GrandmaWilliams.com
We all know that people today can expect to live healthily and productively for longer than ever before. This is fact. Irrefutable. But, what is less clear is what we are all to do with this extra time. As the concept of retirement is increasingly eroded, our society is in desperate need of new life models, new examples of what is possible. We need new champions to help shape a new world, where people can work, play, innovate, inspire, lead and create - throughout life, regardless of age. Maggy is such a champion. Read her book and see why.
Dr Jonathan Collie, co-founder of The Age of No Retirement
We are all ageing. This motivating and practical book is a valuable, easy-to-read guide on what we need to do to help us age well and make the most of our lives. As a patron of Open Age, I'm delighted that a share of Maggy's royalties will benefit this remarkable charity.
Baroness Sally Greengross, Chief Executive, International Longevity Centre UK; member of the House of Lords since 2000 and co-chair of several All-Party Parliamentary Groups on ageing; Director General of Age Concern England from 1987–2000
We hear so much about the burdens of an ageing society that we seem to have talked ourselves into thinking of rising life expectancy as a bad thing. In this book, Maggy Pigott reminds us how lucky we are to live at such a time and how to add joy to all the other emotions as we navigate those later years.
Alan Johnson, former Labour politician and Cabinet Minister, including Secretary of State for Health (2007–2009); award-winning author; patron of Open Age