Isabel Tom - The Value of Wrinkles: A Young Perspective on How Loving the Old Will Change Your Life

Aging is challenging. As the number of candles on my birthday cake increases to the size of a bonfire, and the woman I see in the mirror reflects my advancing years, I hope to be treated with the respect Isabel Tom gives her aging charges. The Value of Wrinkles is an encouraging look at how we can honor and respect those who are in the final third of their lives. Her stories of Mama and Yeye are heartwarming and real. This isnt a boring how-to book, but rather a story of how the elderly can enrich our lives.

JANE DALY | Author of The Caregiving Season: Finding Grace to Honor Your Aging Parent and Because of Grace: A Mothers Journey from Grief to Hope

The Value of Wrinkles is a welcome cultural corrective for our youth-obsessed society. Isabel shows us how friendships dissolve the confines of loneliness and depression to brighten the lives of young and old alike.

IRA BYOCK, MD | Author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible; founder of the Institute for Human Caring, Providence St. Joseph Health

If you struggle with how to love the older person in your life, The Value of Wrinkles is the perfect place to start. Isabels words are fun, convicting, and practical all at the same time. Recommended reading for grandchildren and adult children alike.

AMANDA GILL | Executive Director at Arbor Terrace Fulton

What a refreshing and compassionate look at the dignity of being old. The Value of Wrinkles brilliantly exposes the stereotypical bias of ageism that dominates our current culture. Very well done and a worthwhile read.

JOHN C. ERICKSON | Founder of Erickson Living

So as not to have the regret not having spent enough time with or not having said the things I should have to your loving elders, read this book and follow the practical, heartfelt advice. A beautifully written, precise account from personal experiences with a humbling approach. A delight to read and a must for everyone.

SHAHID AZIZ, MD, FAAP | Author, Courageous Conversations on Dying: The Gift of Palliative Care

Sometimes we have to admit to ourselves we dont know everything. And this is especially true with aging since most of us havent gotten there yet. Isabels book is a powerful reminder that we all can benefit from having an older person in our lives.

GEOFF COLEMAN, MD, MHA | Chief Medical Officer at Montgomery Hospice

With her unique perspective as a young professional with an old soul, Isabel Tom shares her wisdom about aging persons and helps the reader see clearly how their strengths and challenges can be the foundation for mutually rewarding intergenerational relationships. Her practical guide combines an interdisciplinary approach with a deeply spiritual love of the aging to describe a world I want to grow old in.

JUDAH L. RONCH, PHD | Professor and former dean, The Erickson School, UMBC; coeditor, Culture Change in Elder Care and Models and Pathways for Person Centered Elder Care

The author is very astute in making connections between the stories she tells about living with older grandparents and the ways that we can gain new perspectives and strengthen our relationships with the older adults in our lives. I can see The Value of Wrinkles being useful for healthcare professionals and those who serve older adults as they try to examine their own thoughts and feelings about aging. I can also see how it could help medical and nursing students who may be working with older adults in clinical settings to be more aware of the wisdom, humor, and relationship that older adults continue to offer to those who listen. This book would be a useful companion for courses specific to aging, whether in social science, healthcare, or other related fields.

BEVERLY K. LUNSFORD, PHD, RN, FAAN | Assistant Professor at GW School of Nursing; codirector of the GW Center for Aging, Health and Humanities

Heartwarming, honest, and very compelling. A great read and one that reminds me throughout why some of us have committed our careers to the service of elders. I would say that elders are the largest repository of accumulated wisdomin the form of walking, talking peoplethat is currently available to us in the world.

KEVIN D. HEFFNER, MAGS | President of LifeSpan Network

A must-read book for every millennial (or I might say every person under the age of 40). This book beautifully celebrates our elderly with dignity and respect. It is funny, honest, heartfelt, and most of all, honors a generation that has given us all we are proud of in this country.

ROBERT VAN DYK | President/CEO, Van Dyk Health Care

Isabel has a unique, infectious, and compassionate perspective on growing older. The Value of Wrinkles has left me awestruck! She has this incredible ability to leave the reader at peace with gaining wrinkles, serving those with wrinkles, and tapping into the older community as an essential source of experience and wisdom. Our society needs more people like Isabel Tom.

LINNA BYERS, 35

This book brings to life some beautiful insights into how we can care for and interact with our older adult community. Isabels personal stories are super relatable and made it very easy to read!

CRYSTAL MAK, 24

The Value of Wrinkles challenged me to see older relatives not just as people you have to visit but as treasure troves of wisdom and stories. This book tugged at my heart strings as it brought back tender memories of my grandparents. I wish I read this book while they were still around so I could have made more of the time I had with them.

ANGELO CAPILI, 44

2020 by
ISABEL TOM

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

All emphasis in Scripture has been added.

Details of some stories have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Names and/or details have been modified in the book.

Edited by Amanda Cleary Eastep
Interior Design: Erik M. Peterson
Cover Design: Kelsey Fehlberg
Author Photo: Tung Tu Photography

All websites and phone numbers listed herein are accurate at the time of publication but may change in the future or cease to exist. The listing of website references and resources does not imply publisher endorsement of the sites entire contents. Groups and organizations are listed for informational purposes, and listing does not imply publisher endorsement of their activities.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tom, Isabel, author.

Title: The value of wrinkles : a young perspective on how loving the old will change your life / Isabel Tom.

Description: Chicago : Northfield Publishing, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: What we miss out on when we overvalue youth. Were so afraid of aging that we begin to devalue ourselves and others with each passing year. The phrase 30 years old incites panic. Seniors live in separate communities with little interaction with young people, and middle-aged people spend millions each year on anti-aging products. But what if we have it all wrong? Isabel Tom grew up living with grandparents and has spent over a decade of her career in end-of-life care. Today she: --teaches you what the elderly offer us that we cannot live without --challenges our cultural beliefs and practices that affect those who are aging --gives you practical insight on how to care for those older than you. Plus, the book includes a section written from senior citizens entitled, I Wish You Knew Age isnt a curse, and the elderly among us deserve better. Will you be a part of the change?-- Provided by publisher.