From the Publisher
In this witty guide for seekers of all ages,
author Henry Alford seeks instant enlightenment through
conversations with those who have lived long and lived well.
Armed with recent medical evidence that
supports the cliche that older people are, indeed, wiser, Alford
sets off to interview people over 70--some famous (Phyllis Diller,
Harold Bloom, Edward Albee), some accomplished (the world''s
most-quoted author, a woman who walked across the country at age 89
in support of campaign finance reform), some unusual (a pastor who
thinks napping is a form of prayer, a retired aerospace engineer
who eats food out of the garbage.) Early on in the process, Alford
interviews his 79 year-old mother and step-father, and
inadvertently changes the course of their 36 year-long union.
Part family memoir, part Studs Terkel,
How To Live considers some unusual sources--deathbed
confessions, late-in-life journals--to deliver a highly optimistic
look at our dying days. By showing that life after 70 is the
fulfillment of, not the end to, life''s questions and trials, How
to Live delivers that most unexpected punch: it makes you actually
*want* to get older.
About the Author
Henry Alford is the author of two acclaimed works
of investigative humor--Big Kiss: One Actor''s Desperate
Attempt to Claw His Way to the Top and Municipal Bondage:
One Man''s Anxiety-Producing Adventures in the Big City. He
has been a regular contributor to the New York Times and
Vanity Fair, and a staff writer at Spy. He has
also written for The New Yorker, GQ, New York, Details,
Harper''s Bazaar, Travel & Leisure, the Villiage Voice, and
Paris Review.
Format: Hardcover
Published: January 2, 2009
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Language: English
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10: 0446196037
ISBN - 13: 9780446196031
