[Hot Off the Press] The Frailty of Growing Old

New Release from the Ateneo Press shines a light on the inner worlds of elderly Filipinos

Everybody tells us to listen to our elders. But do we really listen to their stories? A new release from the Ateneo University Press, The Frailty of Growing Old by Mary Ann J. Ladia amplifies the stories of elderly Filipinos as they go about their daily lives—detailing the joys and the sorrows that come with aging.

The book is divided into three parts. “Understanding Frailty” introduces the narrators and how multiple societal factors (history, physical and social environment, available health and social services, etc) influenced their places in the frailty spectrum. “The Frailty Spectrum” delves deeper into the complex experiences of being robust, pre-frail, and being frail. Ladia emphasizes that the elderly’s places in this spectrum are not the entirety of who they are. Frailty does not diminish the strength of their spirits. They have their likes and dislikes, hobbies, and responsibilities, along with hopes for the present and the future. The final section, “Preparing for an Aging Society,” provides recommendations that answer the overarching question of the book: “What can be done to uphold the dignity of our senior citizens?”

Michael L. Tan praises the approaches used in the book: “Mary Ann J. Ladia’s The Frailty of Growing Old shows the potentials of narrative medicine or, more specifically, narrative gerontology. This work is pioneering in the way it combines the more quantified methods of clinical medicine . . . with the elderly’s own life stories, especially how they are coping with aging. The narratives give life to the evaluation of the elderly, the stories divided into those of the wide fit-and-frail spectrum.”

The Frailty of Growing Old is an urgent call to action directed toward policymakers, healthcare providers, as well as the friends and families of the elderly. In the introduction, Ladia declares: “Growing old is inevitable, but frailty is not. Frailty is preventable and potentially reversible.” The book strongly advocates for societal changes so that frailty may be avoided and our senior citizens are given the holistic care they deserve.

About the Author

Mary Ann J. Ladia is research associate professor at the Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health, and affiliate associate professor at the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila. She holds a PhD in anthropology from the Michigan State University with specializations in anthropology of health (infectious diseases in the sociocultural context) and of local knowledges (rituals and systems of healing).

The Frailty of Growing Old by Mary Ann J. Ladia is published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press under the Bughaw imprint. The book is available at the Ateneo University Press Bookshop in Bellarmine Hall, and the Press’s official Lazada and Shopee stores.

Get your copy in paperback: website │ Lazada | Shopee