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A Long Bright Future: Happiness, Health, and Financial Security in an Age of Increased Longevity
The twentieth century bequeathed us a fabulous gift: thirty more years of life on average. Supersized life spans are going to radically alter society, and present an unprecedented opportunity to change our approach not only to old age but to all of life’s stages. The ramifications are just beginning to dawn on us.... yet in the meantime, we keep thinking about, and planning for, life as it used to be lived. In A Long Bright Future, longevity and aging expert Laura Carstensen guides us into the new possibilities offered by a longer life. She debunks the myths and misconceptions about aging that stop us from adequately preparing for the future both as individuals and as a society: that growing older is associated with loneliness and unhappiness, and that only the genetically blessed live well and long. She then focuses on other important components of a long life, including finances, health, social relationships, Medicare and Social Security, challenging our preconceived notions of “old age” every step of the way.
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2009
65 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Laura L. Carstensen
19 books21 followersLaura L. Carstensen, PhD, Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, is Professor of Psychology and the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy at Stanford University, where she is also the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, which explores innovative ways to solve the problems of people over 50 while improving the well-being of people of all ages. She is best known in academia for socioemotional selectivity theory, a life-span theory of motivation, and with her students and colleagues, has published more than 150 articles on life-span development. Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging for more than 20 years and she is currently supported by a MERIT Award. In 2011, she authored A Long Bright Future: Happiness, Health, and Financial Security in an Age of Increased Longevity. She is a member of the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network on an Aging Society and currently serves on the National Advisory Council on Aging to NIA. She has won numerous awards, including the Kleemeier Award and Distinguished Mentorship Award from the Gerontological Society of America, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship. She received a BS from the University of Rochester and PhD in clinical psychology from West Virginia University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 22, 2021
This was an awesome book for where I am in life. (Ironic since I'm probably among the younger readers at 34).
Friends and I have long been working toward "FIRE" (financially independent, retire early) but I'm starting to doubt this is really what we want at such a young age.
It was cool to hear the director suggesting that most people should probably work til their 80+. But that we should "take the extra years of longevity" and spread them out throughout your life, instead of "tacking them all on at the end". So take mini-retirements throughout life, setup flexible part-time work arrangements and/or work remotely, etc.
The author took this stance of working longer from multiple perspectives:
* keep older people healthy and engaged (intellectually, socially, happy-> feeling productive)
* make the US more productive (rather than an expected brain drain at 65 with the most experienced people)
* ease financial concerns for both individuals and social security (since social security wasn't intended for 30+ year retirements, and we're generally not good at long-term financial planning like this as individuals either).
I feel like I highlighted half the book. I'm definitely missing stuff in this summary.
Friends and I have long been working toward "FIRE" (financially independent, retire early) but I'm starting to doubt this is really what we want at such a young age.
It was cool to hear the director suggesting that most people should probably work til their 80+. But that we should "take the extra years of longevity" and spread them out throughout your life, instead of "tacking them all on at the end". So take mini-retirements throughout life, setup flexible part-time work arrangements and/or work remotely, etc.
The author took this stance of working longer from multiple perspectives:
* keep older people healthy and engaged (intellectually, socially, happy-> feeling productive)
* make the US more productive (rather than an expected brain drain at 65 with the most experienced people)
* ease financial concerns for both individuals and social security (since social security wasn't intended for 30+ year retirements, and we're generally not good at long-term financial planning like this as individuals either).
I feel like I highlighted half the book. I'm definitely missing stuff in this summary.
August 3, 2009
I loved reading my sister's book. Very positive advice on how to grow older and how as a society we can take care of one another responsibly. I learned a lot.
April 3, 2020
The suggestions are reasonable but repetitive, vague, and utopian. Will they arise through legal compulsions, incentives paid by taxes, or individual choices?
March 13, 2010
A long, dry discussion of aging and ways to deal with social, economic, health and other factors across generations. Worth skimming. When I came to the last chapter I felt like I was reading the book for the third time.
March 16, 2014
I met Laura Carstensen after she gave a wonderful lecture at Stanford. The program was basically a "back to school" day for parents of then Stanford students and my daughter, Rosemary, said that Carstensen would be a highlight of the day - my daughter was right.
This book is a very important read and should be required reading for all members of congress. It provides keen insight into just how badly our system is broken. We have a social security system that is based on false assumptions that just don't apply in modern America. The system was based on a form of universal contribution that assumed most wage earners would retire and then die shortly afterwards, if not before. In fact, modern medicine has helped extend longevity to well passed the assumed retirement age of 65 but we have not changed the plan to reflect the fact that most recipients will have many "surplus" years beyond those original projections.
Carstensen challenges not just social security but the holistic societal norms around aging. Basically, we are all going to live longer than we could have imagined growing up and shouldn't we all adjust our expectations accordingly. The whole concept of retirement, assumed that someone would work until the age of 65, have a couple of years of "retirement" and then die. Now, a 65 year old who "retires" has to address the question, what are you going to do for the next 30 or so years? This book is very thought provoking, especially for anyone approaching the 65 year old threshold.
Modern medicine will keep you alive, but how do you want to live it? Bedridden for 30 years? What are you doing today to make sure your body will thrive rather than fall apart and keep you imprisoned? How are you going to finance those next 30 years - with fewer contributors and more elderly people surviving to draw down the benefits will the funding in social security be enough to provide financial well-being for all of us? Doubtful!
Carstensen also points out that new models have to be built that accommodate an older work force, a model that values years of experience combined with highly flexible structures around roles, wages, hours, etc. Essentially creating alternative career paths that incorporate volunteerism, or "doing good" with extended years of active participation in the economy!
Carstense is truly a thought leader in this field. I only gave her four stars rather than five because at times the book vacillates between an academic approach versus a book intended for a broader audience. She does an outstanding job of describing the problem but it's up to society to come up with the solutions.
Back to that day when I met Professor Carstensen - I have to agree with Mark Twain that education is wasted on the young - I'd love to take her class!
This book is a very important read and should be required reading for all members of congress. It provides keen insight into just how badly our system is broken. We have a social security system that is based on false assumptions that just don't apply in modern America. The system was based on a form of universal contribution that assumed most wage earners would retire and then die shortly afterwards, if not before. In fact, modern medicine has helped extend longevity to well passed the assumed retirement age of 65 but we have not changed the plan to reflect the fact that most recipients will have many "surplus" years beyond those original projections.
Carstensen challenges not just social security but the holistic societal norms around aging. Basically, we are all going to live longer than we could have imagined growing up and shouldn't we all adjust our expectations accordingly. The whole concept of retirement, assumed that someone would work until the age of 65, have a couple of years of "retirement" and then die. Now, a 65 year old who "retires" has to address the question, what are you going to do for the next 30 or so years? This book is very thought provoking, especially for anyone approaching the 65 year old threshold.
Modern medicine will keep you alive, but how do you want to live it? Bedridden for 30 years? What are you doing today to make sure your body will thrive rather than fall apart and keep you imprisoned? How are you going to finance those next 30 years - with fewer contributors and more elderly people surviving to draw down the benefits will the funding in social security be enough to provide financial well-being for all of us? Doubtful!
Carstensen also points out that new models have to be built that accommodate an older work force, a model that values years of experience combined with highly flexible structures around roles, wages, hours, etc. Essentially creating alternative career paths that incorporate volunteerism, or "doing good" with extended years of active participation in the economy!
Carstense is truly a thought leader in this field. I only gave her four stars rather than five because at times the book vacillates between an academic approach versus a book intended for a broader audience. She does an outstanding job of describing the problem but it's up to society to come up with the solutions.
Back to that day when I met Professor Carstensen - I have to agree with Mark Twain that education is wasted on the young - I'd love to take her class!
December 15, 2013
Has some excellent insights such as the point that your siblings know you longer than anyone else. I also appreciated her telling the story of her southern born mother, who felt guilty because she was a teenager before she realized the heinous ness of Jim Crow. My Memphis-raised dad felt the exact same guilt.
My criticisms:
-1-
Her vision of a much longer work life composed of a mix of part time work, extended schooling and volunteer activities doesn't sit well with this recent retiree who is just too happy to be done with corporate America.
-2-
She is completely silent on how we get from here to there. If you are 30-something and raising a family, part time work sounds great but you still need a full time paycheck.
-3-
The book, taken as a whole, is extremely repetitious. Terms and concepts are explained several times. I suspect the chapters were written as individual articles. They should have been edited when compiled into a book.
-4-
The author's exhortations to be visionary! Be revolutionary! become condescending and clueless after a hundred pages or so.
My criticisms:
-1-
Her vision of a much longer work life composed of a mix of part time work, extended schooling and volunteer activities doesn't sit well with this recent retiree who is just too happy to be done with corporate America.
-2-
She is completely silent on how we get from here to there. If you are 30-something and raising a family, part time work sounds great but you still need a full time paycheck.
-3-
The book, taken as a whole, is extremely repetitious. Terms and concepts are explained several times. I suspect the chapters were written as individual articles. They should have been edited when compiled into a book.
-4-
The author's exhortations to be visionary! Be revolutionary! become condescending and clueless after a hundred pages or so.
January 21, 2024
If you’re looking for an academic paper on the social aspects of aging, you have chosen the right book. If you’re looking for recommendations to live a long life with a bright future, this is definitely not the best option out there. Spoiler alert: my takeaway - our generation is living longer, the government can’t afford it, and people should consider working longer and work less when they’re young.
To the author: Of course everyone wants to work less but not everyone can afford it. Almost every middle aged person I know, by the time we’re in our 50s or 60s, we’re ready to take a break, rest, have fun, or do something new. Not everyone wants to work until they die. Not everyone lives to 90+. We get only 1 life. We all should do what we love and enjoy the last part of our lives, while we still have health to do whatever it is. If you decide to write other books on this subject, please consider writing something to help people through their aging journey.
I only went through this book because my book club chose it (and the majority could not finish it)…
To the author: Of course everyone wants to work less but not everyone can afford it. Almost every middle aged person I know, by the time we’re in our 50s or 60s, we’re ready to take a break, rest, have fun, or do something new. Not everyone wants to work until they die. Not everyone lives to 90+. We get only 1 life. We all should do what we love and enjoy the last part of our lives, while we still have health to do whatever it is. If you decide to write other books on this subject, please consider writing something to help people through their aging journey.
I only went through this book because my book club chose it (and the majority could not finish it)…
April 20, 2020
A few too many "tobacco, fast foods, couch potato" and "my colleague xxx Stanford Professor of yyy" references, but otherwise a highly readable, provocative set of proposals to capture value from the over 65 set.
The book was written in 2009. As a result, Carstensen did not emphasize the devastating effects that economic dislocation, wage stagnation, and rising unemployment and underemployment has had on a huge swath of American society. Her prescriptions for seniors - education, continued participation in the labor force, volunteering, diet, exercise, etc. - have dropped off the options menu. A contemporary solution to a more productive senior life would be a fairer economic system, equitable access to medical care, a caring benevolent nation-state that built and maintained infrastructure (and schools) and forcefully advocated for opportunities for everyone across the income, age, wage, and social status spectrum.
The book was written in 2009. As a result, Carstensen did not emphasize the devastating effects that economic dislocation, wage stagnation, and rising unemployment and underemployment has had on a huge swath of American society. Her prescriptions for seniors - education, continued participation in the labor force, volunteering, diet, exercise, etc. - have dropped off the options menu. A contemporary solution to a more productive senior life would be a fairer economic system, equitable access to medical care, a caring benevolent nation-state that built and maintained infrastructure (and schools) and forcefully advocated for opportunities for everyone across the income, age, wage, and social status spectrum.
August 22, 2018
Note:
On her findings that "older people as a group suffer less from depression, anxiety, and substance abuse than their younger counterparts." I.e. mental health improves with age. Esoteric qualities of youth recede with age - health, beauty, power - which is the paradox of aging.
Quotes:
But I maintain there is more logic than paradox. The answer lies in something we might commonly call life perspective; a more technical term that I and my colleagues have introduced is "socioemotional selectivity." . . . the crux of the idea is that human beings are unique in their ability to measure the passage of time against a sort of internal "life span clock," keeping track of where they are in the life cycle. When we are young, time seems expansive, and we focus on acquiring knowledge, seeking novel experiences, and enmeshing ourselves in a large network of friends and colleagues. As we age, we sense the clock winding down and our attention shifts to savoring the time that is left, focusing instead on the depth of experience, closeness, a smaller set of goals, and a highly selected group of loved ones. (page 17).
Aging is inevitable. How you age is not. You will very likely spend about three decades of your life as an old person. Deal with it. Death is the only alternative. If you can put behind you the fantasy of eternal youth, you can begin to plan seriously for what comes next. You can begin to think hard about the type of old person you want to be. Cool and hip? Relaxed, aloof, and serious? Will you be the gentle mediator or the sharp-tongued old person who tells it like it is? (Page 39/40)
The effect of socioemotional selectivity is powerful, but old age itself isn't necessarily the cause. This reframing of social relationships can be prompted by anything that forces us to recognize the fragility of life and the inevitability of endings. Aging is a powerful reminder that life doesn't last forever, but so is disaster. [goes on to discuss September 11 and anecdotal evidence of making up or breaking up]. (page 113/114)
On her findings that "older people as a group suffer less from depression, anxiety, and substance abuse than their younger counterparts." I.e. mental health improves with age. Esoteric qualities of youth recede with age - health, beauty, power - which is the paradox of aging.
Quotes:
But I maintain there is more logic than paradox. The answer lies in something we might commonly call life perspective; a more technical term that I and my colleagues have introduced is "socioemotional selectivity." . . . the crux of the idea is that human beings are unique in their ability to measure the passage of time against a sort of internal "life span clock," keeping track of where they are in the life cycle. When we are young, time seems expansive, and we focus on acquiring knowledge, seeking novel experiences, and enmeshing ourselves in a large network of friends and colleagues. As we age, we sense the clock winding down and our attention shifts to savoring the time that is left, focusing instead on the depth of experience, closeness, a smaller set of goals, and a highly selected group of loved ones. (page 17).
Aging is inevitable. How you age is not. You will very likely spend about three decades of your life as an old person. Deal with it. Death is the only alternative. If you can put behind you the fantasy of eternal youth, you can begin to plan seriously for what comes next. You can begin to think hard about the type of old person you want to be. Cool and hip? Relaxed, aloof, and serious? Will you be the gentle mediator or the sharp-tongued old person who tells it like it is? (Page 39/40)
The effect of socioemotional selectivity is powerful, but old age itself isn't necessarily the cause. This reframing of social relationships can be prompted by anything that forces us to recognize the fragility of life and the inevitability of endings. Aging is a powerful reminder that life doesn't last forever, but so is disaster. [goes on to discuss September 11 and anecdotal evidence of making up or breaking up]. (page 113/114)
June 27, 2022
I was disappointed in the lack of understanding and willingness to consider complex and nuanced human experiences, specifically body weight and size and diet culture. Trite comments such as "it is never too late to slim down" left me feeling frustrated. The author comes across as being out of touch with the current reality of weight stigma within our culture, especially in our healthcare systems. I am not comfortable recommending this book to my clients, colleagues, and community.
June 11, 2025
A good book with excellent ideas for extending quality of life through every generation. This book looks at health, research, governmental health insurance programs & work-family life questions. However, written in 2010-ish, it is dated now, given the political and fiscal challenges facing our country. It became difficult to read good ideas that have already been removed as Research & Healthcare options are cut.
October 22, 2020
An interesting look into aging and the opportunities the future has as life expectancies continue to climb. As someone in their 20s looking forward to the future ahead, it provides perspectives and outlooks that are rarely discussed early on in modern life. Putting into perspective the time I have has helped decision making and has helped decide what truly matters.
Read
September 16, 2025I think this book is missing some nuance (such as considerations made for poverty / racism / sexism / access to healthcare, and the subsequent impact of those factors on life expectancy). Comes across extremely pretentious at times, but an interesting read when considering preparing for retirement.
January 4, 2020
Minuteman. p 108 concept of "social convoys", core set of peole to accompany us through life, ideally about 3, from Toni Antonucci and Robert Kahn psychologists at U Mich. Statistics, call for changing attitudes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2025
I gave this book two stars instead of one (or none) because the author initially raises some good points (which I have highlighted). But the author became repetitive very early in the book, and it became monotonous to me.
September 30, 2025
Riveting. Save money now; you will very likely live much longer than you think. Well past retirement. Often one partner is left with debt (medical, usually) and lives alone, struggling to make ends meet. A daunting message, one that needs to be recognized and heeded.
May 16, 2017
Good information but a very dry read.
July 8, 2021
Audiobook. Well, the thoughts were good but pretty idealistic. I’m a “boomer” and was pretty depressed after reading, didn’t seem like the ideas in this book could be a possibility in my lifetime
November 25, 2023
Excellent suggestions for living a long productive life. A lot of it was obvious to me but many people would find the material very helpful.
October 25, 2015
An aspirational consideration of a society that anticipates it will (and is), on average, live dramatically longer lives and what this means to the individual as well as to the entire society. Carstensen introduces some personally useful nuggets like exploring the idea of one's "social convoy" or network of relationships with whom one travels through life. At the other end of the utility spectrum, she also delves into much broader societal issues which should be addressed but whose need is not yet recognized or is so politically or socially challenging that it may in fact, take generations until it is.
A higher-educated white baby-boomer (like myself), I couldn't escape the sense that her prescriptions didn't work so well for a broader population. Hard for me to think of people extending their working career by electing gaps wherein they build more well-rounded life experience. Yes, the concept is great but I'm having difficulty seeing it in practice. Perhaps a shortage of my own imagination.
A higher-educated white baby-boomer (like myself), I couldn't escape the sense that her prescriptions didn't work so well for a broader population. Hard for me to think of people extending their working career by electing gaps wherein they build more well-rounded life experience. Yes, the concept is great but I'm having difficulty seeing it in practice. Perhaps a shortage of my own imagination.
January 10, 2016
Dr. Laura Carstensen is the Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. Her counterpart at UCLA (the UCLA Center on Aging) is Dr. Gary Small, of whom I have read a couple of books previously. The message of increased longevity is exciting but not without many warning signs. Gary's message was one of focus on diet, physical exercise, mental exercise and low stress. Laura's message is focused on social relationships (nourish them), work (work longer and save more), learning (throughout your life), and health (take care of your body) so it is more encompassing of the broader aspects of the daily lives we lead. Her strategy uses a guideline of "Envision", "Design", "Diversity", and "Invest". I feel I have been pretty good at following both of their guidelines for the controllable elements of my aging. The major shortcoming is my weight and her message was just to lose 5-10%. Now that seems achievable (I hope!!).
June 9, 2012
The book makes some very good points but it was a bit repetitive. The author has great life style re-engineering ideas (including working longer) but I really don't see how they could be implemented. For example, there are a number of factors that make working longer impractical or sometimes impossible. Holding that out as a solution, puts people in a position to be unprepared for a forced retirement. According to the Employe Benefit Research Institute's 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, "half of current retirees say they left the work force unexpectedly." The reasons were health problems, disability, employer downsizing or closure." Half of current retirees!! Every time, I hear working longer held out as a solution, I want to add a "warning label." As someone who is retired, I wake up everyday thankful that I can afford to be.
March 7, 2016
I read this book in a steady and slow pace. The author envisions a healthier and happier aging picture with research evidences and examples to back up. For people who don't have much idea about gerontology and advances in the field of study, this is a book worth of reading. This book has a combination of writing styles, very academic in structuring the chapters and plain language in wording and phrasing. As part of my book reading project, one thing I learned from reading this book is that even leisure reading needs some planning and note taking if I want to set a specific goal of numbers of books that I want to read and/or amount of intelligent reading that I want to do. A book per month is still not good enough, but definitely a place to start.
September 30, 2013
Laura presents a model for aging on the verge of the largest group of our population turning the magical age 65. Is 65 still an appropriate age to hang it up and retire? With the increasing longevity experienced by most in the US, it seems it is not. Laura's model is intriguing but ultimately a little too simple in my opinion. The book was a bit drawn out in some parts and overall felt too familiar when it came to aging and dealing with the "new normal" we are close to experiencing due to the Baby Boomers retiring.
April 5, 2011
Not for a young guy that just retired last week at 55. This book suggests that people shouldn't retire until at least 80 and then gradually ease into retirement.
May 27, 2014
Excellent writing, easily understood, great thoughts and ideas!!
August 24, 2012
I was reading this while attending my son's graduation from college - a transitional time in life. I found it well written and discovered gems to help me in my own transitions.
November 16, 2014
Retired and loving it. Have no interest in the author's suggestion that I rejoin the work force.
February 3, 2015
A book we should all read and discuss!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews