Lucy Pollock

Many of us are living to a very great age. But how do we give those we love, and eventually ourselves, long lives that are as happy and healthy as possible? Dr Lucy's book gives us answers to the questions we can voice - and those that we can't.

How do we start? How do we ask whether it's worth taking seven different medicines? Is it normal to find you're falling out of love with someone, as they disappear into dementia? Should Dad be driving, and if not, who can stop him? What are the secrets of the best care homes? When does fierce independence become bad behaviour? How do you navigate near-impossible discussions around resuscitation and intensity of treatments? And who decides what happens when we become ill?

 

Today, we are living longer lives, and have choices now as never before about how we will age. What will make us happy? What are we frightened of, and what might allay those fears? What changes, made right now, will help us to flourish as we age?

This book contains lessons Lucy Pollock learned from thirty years of working with older people and those close to them. It looks at problems that can be fixed with tests and tablets, and problems that require a different sort of medicine.

The Golden Rule sets out guiding principles we can all try to live by, in the hope that together we can bring about positive change, and all benefit from a kinder, more compassionate society.