A Long Time Coming

essays on ageing
Melanie Joosten

‘Thoughtful and honest, this book is a reminder to cherish our elders.’

Dr Ranjana Srivastava, author of Tell Me the Truth

‘[A] fine collection … shows deep commitment and quite profound levels of insight and compassion.’

Weekend Australian

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‘Heartening … [Joosten has] a novelist's feel for the texture of life.’

Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald

‘[V]ivid and surprising ... This eloquent collection advocates for the elderly.’

Sydney Review of Books

‘A powerful collection of essays exploring what it means to grow old.’

Australian Ageing Agenda

‘Well written, brimming with empathy ... a thoughtful work by a writer whose social work commitment arose from “a feeling of obligation towards those who do not have the opportunities I have had” ... This book pulls no punches, making it another valuable contribution to the debate we need to have.’

GP Speak

‘Joosten makes a plea for heightened empathy towards older people, but she goes on to make it clear that empathy without action — without changed perceptions, changed behaviour — is insufficient. As such, A Long Time Coming is a challenging as well as eminently readable book.’

Patrick Allington, Australian Book Review

'[E]motionally wrenching, undeniably powerful piece ... A Long Time Coming is a work that deserves high praise for the persuasive way in which Joosten crafts her arguments toward greater understanding and compassion for older Australians. It’s an exceptional piece of writing, one that will provoke discussion, challenge opinions and, hopefully, inspire change.'

Right Now

‘Joosten smashes through our over-sentimentalised ways of talking about old age.’

Maria Tumarkin

A powerful collection of essays exploring what it means to grow old in our youth-obsessed world

To live a long life should be a joy; to be old should not be a burden.

With improved health care and higher standards of living, each generation is living longer than the last. Governments see our ageing population as an imminent disaster, and old age as a medical problem. We are encouraged to remain active, stay healthy, and work longer — in short, to refuse becoming old. But if living longer is really about staying young, do we risk turning a blind eye to issues facing the elderly?

Weaving interviews with research and memoir, Joosten undertakes a timely and clear-sighted investigation into the housing crisis as it affects older people, the politics of nursing-home care, the difficulties of dementia, support services for Indigenous Australians, and how the burden of caring for others can fall disproportionately on women.

Moving, passionate, and urgent, A Long Time Coming is a call for empathy in a society that valorises youth and self-reliance — a profound reminder that everyone has the right to be old.

‘Thoughtful and honest, this book is a reminder to cherish our elders.’

Dr Ranjana Srivastava, author of Tell Me the Truth

‘[A] fine collection … shows deep commitment and quite profound levels of insight and compassion.’

Weekend Australian

View all reviews

‘Heartening … [Joosten has] a novelist's feel for the texture of life.’

Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald

‘[V]ivid and surprising ... This eloquent collection advocates for the elderly.’

Sydney Review of Books

‘A powerful collection of essays exploring what it means to grow old.’

Australian Ageing Agenda

GP Speak

Patrick Allington, Australian Book Review

Right Now

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size:210mm × 135mm

Extent:256pp

ISBN (13):9781925321371

RRP:$27.99

Pub date:30 May 2016

High-res cover:Download Image

AWARDS

2016 The Nib Waverley Library Award for Literature - Short-listed 2016 The Nib Waverley Library Award for Literature, People's Choice Award - Winner

CATEGORIES / tags

AUTHOR

Melanie Joosten

Melanie Joosten's debut novel, Berlin Syndrome, saw her named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist and receive the Kathleen Mitchell Award; it has since been made into a motion picture directed by Cate Shortland. In 2016, she published the essay collection A Long Time Coming. Her work appears in various publications, including Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Best Australian Stories 2014, and Going Down Swinging.