Karl Pillemer Ph.D.

A very sweet book that made me think about what I bring to and look for in a relationship. While some of it was a bit saccharine, I did truly appreciate the life and love advice of the older generation. I did appreciate that the book wasn't all unicorns and sparkles and that some of the stories, and advice, did talk about the darker aspects of a relationship (from both perspectives). It's a book that I would pick up again to remind me how to have a fulfilling and loving relationship, and how to navigate it.… (mere)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and wondered how much I missed from never having these kinds of conversations with my grandmother and grandfather (both married multiple times). I can only imagine that much of what they would have told me about marriage as a commitment and a job would have been found within these pages.

Pillemer does a fabulous job of organizing the information into key components, making the true value of the words of these elders easy to grasp and hold on to. Much as the theory of the [Five Love Languages] goes beyond any one spiritual belief, the concepts found within this book all relate to far more than just the elderly. If we had more of a community of generations today, I wonder if we would be able to forgo much of the pain associated with split families. Perhaps paying attention to the lessons that have already been learned could do some good for those of us who have not yet had the experiences of the peaks and valleys of such long term relationships.… (mere)