Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging

by Roger Landry

A rousing call to rethink the aging process Over a decade ago, a landmark ten-year study by the MacArthur Foundation shattered the stereotypes of aging as a process of slow, genetically determined decline. Researchers found that that 70 percent of physical aging, and about 50 percent of mental aging, is determined by lifestyle, the choices we make every day. That means that if we optimize our lifestyles, we can live longer and “die shorter”—compress the decline period into the very end of a fulfilling, active old age. Dr. Roger Landry and his colleagues have spent years bringing the MacArthur Study’s findings to life with a program called Masterpiece Living. In Live Long, Die Short, Landry shares the incredible story of that program and lays out a path for anyone, at any point in life, who wants to achieve authentic health and empower themselves to age in a better way. Writing in a friendly, conversational tone, Dr. Landry encourages you to take a “Lifestyle Inventory” to assess where your health stands now and then leads you through his “Ten Tips,” for successful aging, each of which is backed by the latest research, real-life stories, and the insights Landry—a former Air Force surgeon and current preventive medicine physician—has gained in his years of experience. The result is a guide that will reshape your conception of what it means to grow old and equip you with the tools you need to lead a long, healthy, happy life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging on a cross-country flight. I have read many books about longevity and health, and this one is one of the best.

Although it was published in 2014, all of the information is pertinent and applicable 11 years later. What I enjoyed most about the book is there is still much to be done in the area of changing the narrative about growing older as well as public policies and healthcare approaches to aging. Our final decades should be our best decades. Edging near death should not be a long drawn out, expensive ordeal. We should live our best lives to the fullest and have death be a shorter process.

Sun Health in Phoenix is mentioned frequently in the final three chapters about their innovative stay-at-home (age-in-place) programs. I am on the Board of Sun Health, and I didn't realize this book had information about Sun Health's programs.

Some of the memorable passages include:
* Aging is fundamentally a gift.

* After developing the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk focused on vitality and resilience in older adults.

* How we age is mostly up to us.

* The healthcare business benefits from expensive, drawn-out declines of older people. Preventative approaches hurt healthcare revenues.

* Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. Norma Cousins

* Lifestyle choices not only affect the quality of our life but also the quality of our death.

* Compression of morbidity means the amount of time we are sick at the end of our life is short.

* It is never too late to make a difference, to change the slope of our own aging curve.

Highly recommend!

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book free to review from Netgalley. I do not think this book is for the general public. It refers frequently to a MacArthur Foundation study and to Masterpiece Living. I looked those up and it looks like Masterpiece Living is a group of retirement communities. I think that this book is probably best for the people who live in those retirement communities because it seems to be aimed at those people and advertising that lifestyle.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book with a good message. Rather, a good book with a stale message. When thoughtfully and discriminatingly read, Landry's book suffers by presenting itself as a popular missionary who has the skills of a very good salesman.
Dr. Landry is President of MasterPiece Living, promoting itself as specialists in aging, partnering with retirement communities to assist them in marketing themselves as facilities for continued growth. Its program principles can be found at Google that MPL targets four components of a healthy lifestyle: Physical activity, Social interaction, Intellectual stimulation, Spiritual engagement.
Nothing new there, however Dr. Landry's message for elderly people is not as well presented, not as authoritative, as have others, such as Prof. Sherwin Nuland's "How We Die: Reflections of Life's Final Chapter", Katy Butler's "The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life," Prof. Paul Kalanithi's "When Breath Becomes Air," Dr. Walter M. Bortz's "We Live Too Short and Die Too Long," and by Dr. Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" which is a meditation on how people can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death. The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival.
So in that company, I can't give the Landry book more than two stars.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know when I got this book, but I pulled it out to read recently. I like the premise that getting old doesn't have to mean becoming nothing but sick and useless. The books proposes that as we get older, we can remain viable until shortly before we die. We can maintain a life that is active mentally, physically, socially and spiritually. I like the idea of senior communities that don't treat you as failing and ill, but engage you on all levels. A year ago, I couldn't hardly walk down my driveway. I had surgery and PT, but until I inherited a dog, I didn't think I would ever be able to walk very far. I thought I was on the road to the end. I now see that I can improve, and I'm determined to continue to do so. This book gives me ideas as to how to help myself live longer by being more active on all levels.

[Lisa J Shultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has a personal inventory towards the beginning to see how you are doing on 12 key items that lead to successful aging. Then there is a chapter that expounds on each one. Here is a summary:
1. Move your body
2. Have face to face conversation
3. Learn or do something new
4. Be proud of how you spend your day
5. Eat fruits, vegetable, nuts (5 or more servings a day)
6. Keep your weight within 10 pounds of what it was at age 18
7. Stop rushing
8. Stop worrying
9. Focus on what you are doing
10. Get quality sleep
11. Laugh daily
12. Interact with a child

The author is passionate about his subject matter and the book is presented in an inspiring manner. I highly recommend it.

[Todd Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction for those interested in a more holistic approach to aging. A lot of good advice and perspectives I hadn’t previously considered. The last part of the book is basically a commercial for the authors program “masterpiece living“ and much of the book will be familiar to those who considered these issues previously.

[Jkociela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new here. Same advice you would receive from most "health" books:
- Stay active
- Eat good food
- Be socially involved
- Keep mentally stimulated

A lot of technical information that no one will remember.

[Jo Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Gives you a really positive outlook on aging.

[Catherine V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book of aging insight, an interestingly, helpful, sharing of valuable perspective.

[Megaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great title, nothing really new under the sun as far as the content but it's a good comprehensive summary of what is out there regarding ageing and what it really means to age.

[Elizabeth Mcnair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book on aging and what you need to do to be successful in the process. A lot is common sense, but did learn a lot of facts that support what we should be doing and why!

[Evelina Galova · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nicely put combination of many old and new food theories and ideas. Overall - nothing new for someone who’s been reading books like that, but for a novice in the area - a good read.

[Tama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Landry is an expert in healthy aging. I was introduced to his work through our 55+ neighborhood events over the course of this year. The events were based on his research and writing in this book, explaining how to achieve a long healthy, engaged life. This flips the switch on what often happens in America where individuals retire and slowly decline, with the last 5-10 years dominated by medical conditions.

From Landry's perspective - there is not reason why aging and retirement needs to be the preparation for the end of your life. Instead, it is the opportunity to look forward and actively plan how to enjoy our later years. One point that led to discussion in my home was his statement that you still need a purpose after retirement. He does not dictate what that means - be it in your profession, family role, etc. He then continues with the gentleman that told him he had a purpose all his life and upon retirement, no longer needed it. He was going to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labors (as in, that was his purpose). Landry disagreed that this was truly a purpose.

Interesting read. A bit dry and repetitive at times, but would be good for a group to tackle, especially if they read it in sections by topic.

[Karen Schnakenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I reside in a Continuing Care community that subscribes to the Masterpiece Living concept. I have no quibble with the basic premise that the quality of one's aging experience can be enriched and enhanced by adhering to the principles laid out here. What I'm much less sure of is that the Masterpiece Approach as embodied in specific program elements, including the annual physical and lifestyle revues, achieves (or is responsible for) the desired ends. I also don't think the approach takes genetics into account sufficiently, and I would like to see much more of the data rather than simply the claims, which seem a bit overblown.

[Danielle Palli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The timing of this book was particularly profound for me. As I'm now entering the "40-something" category, and beginning to see those visible signs of aging, I began to question how I can keep improving physically, intellectually and spiritually as I continue to age. Many of my friends are also becoming caretakers of their parents and grandparents, and looking for ways to encourage their loved ones to remain socially engaged and active in the community. This book is a roadmap for people of all ages to live their best life, and a necessary resource to everyone's personal library.

[Brittany Calvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a strong variety of storytelling, information sharing, and motivation for us to hold dear as we age. We're all aging all the time! That's what it means to continually grow! This book is for anyone and everyone who simply wants to age in a better way and view aging as the blessing that it is. Highly recommended!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating guide about transforming the aging process. Highly recommended.