Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble

by Stephen Jenkinson, Charles Eisenstein (Foreword)

In his landmark provocative style, Stephen Jenkinson makes the case that we must birth a new generation of elders, one poised and willing to be true stewards of the planet and its species.

Come of Age does not offer tips on how to be a better senior citizen or how to be kinder to our elders. Rather, with lyrical prose and incisive insight, Stephen Jenkinson explores the great paradox of elderhood in North how we are awash in the aged and yet somehow lacking in wisdom; how we relegate senior citizens to the corner of the house while simultaneously heralding them as sage elders simply by virtue of their age. Our own unreconciled relationship with what it means to be an elder has yielded a culture nearly bereft of them. Meanwhile, the planet boils, and the younger generation boils with anger over being left an environment and sociopolitical landscape deeply scarred and broken.
 
Taking on the sacred cow of the family, Jenkinson argues that elderhood is a function rather than an identity—it is not a position earned simply by the number of years on the planet or the title “parent” or “grandparent.” As with his seminal book Die Wise, Jenkinson interweaves rich personal stories with iconoclastic observations that will leave readers radically rethinking their concept of what it takes to be an elder and the risks of doing otherwise. Part critique, part call to action,  Come of Age  is a love song inviting us—imploring us—to elderhood in this time of trouble. That time is now. We’re an hour before dawn, and first light will show the carnage, or the courage, we bequeath to the generations to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality, Society, Cultural, Memoir, Psychology

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2018

About the author

Stephen is a teacher, author, storyteller, spiritual activist, farmer and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School, a teaching house and learning house for the skills of deep living and making human culture. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry, working for a time ​yet to come.​

Reviews

[Herman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come of Age The case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble by Stephen Jenkinson well you had me with the title like yes that is exactly what I want to read right now, but in actuality at times this was interesting and engaging but at other times it was boring and somewhat less than what it appears, I also became rather tired of the reframe "when I worked in the death industry," so I tired to puzzle through many a dense set of logic deductions but for the most part I did enjoy the richness of Mr. Jenkinson's language. for example, "the realization was a shock, small put profound, like the shove of shoulder to shoulder balance thrown off. Presumably it would come back after awhile meanwhile a shudder, an itch, and ache, in short, desire."... Such rich invoking language but while he write like a poet the summation of his observations are often confusing and the detritus of a highly intelligent mind searching for something profound to say. Like the scene in the movie Pow-wow-Highway, "Hey Gilbert" the old lady calls out to him "come here," Gilbert shuffles over to the old lady who says "I'll tell you something that my great uncle "Looks Twice" Once told Tall Bull he said "Get your horse off of my yard!" Gilbert has the same incredulous look as I oh great elder share with us your wisdom and the answer is "Get your horse off of my yard." after reading this book I almost understand that answer it's like this nugget of wisdom, Nostalgia sells well (The word means "the return of pain") and it is a halfway house on the road to oblivion. Hummm scratch my head and shrug my shoulders "OK" let me think about it for awhile but I'll keep the book around just in case I crack the code of understanding and step inside it's inner chambers until that day happens I'll give you just three stars for making me feel stupid.

[Janisse Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Jenkinson thinks different than 95% of humans, and I very much enjoy the wild poetic way his mind makes connections between images, theories, philosophies, memories, and more. This one is a wild ride and very worth the journey.

[Letecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant. Some of it was better read out loud because the language was so well crafted it needed to be spoken. Stephen is a great storyteller.

[Anya Toomre · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is between a 3 and 4. It's a four because of the premise of the book and various nuggets that were "wow!" worthy and interesting stories that I will take with me. It's a 3 because I found it difficult to get into and found myself re-reading various parts to try to understand points - which sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't.

[James Jesso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenkinson is a profound and important voice in the world right now. I really appreciate this book, not so much as I did Die Wise but I suspect that is because I found the poetic form of the book hard to grasp sometimes. All in all though, it was an incredible read.

[Liam Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am not a writer, that much is clear. I am someone who has written some things down, occasionally, just in case it happened enough times that something book like came around”

On modern rites of passage efforts: “...Some of them are, with noble intentions, and with a probable retroactive longing, for some person-making childhood ending ritual that never took place, borrowing or cadging from every existing culture still undertaking such work, that they are drawn to, or authorised by, taking younger people into the woods or deserts to engineer some rite of passage. Now for the most part, so I’ve heard, they then deliver them back to a town and family, utterly uninformed by whatever might have come to them out there, by [previous story mentioned]. In so doing, they oblige the young people to endure all the slings and arrows of returning to a time and place that has no interest in the ordeal, no way of recognising or employing what came to those young people, or what they saw, no need of them. The temptation is immensely strong for those young people to set aside the event as trivial or poorly imagined, or illusory, or stupid. Equally seductive they could be driven to lionising or fetishising the event as conferring upon them the inalienable status as the primitively skills, the awakened, the alt-elect.”

[Adam Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. Especially the audiobook version read by Jenkinson himself. Hearing the man read his own words into husky weariness is something else.

This book wanders and rambles through the subject matter, itself a fantastic demonstration of elderhood in practice. A long walk through the forest of ideas, pausing to look closely at a beautiful flower of etymology before wandering along further, always accompanied by Jenkinson's fine oratory voice.

It is, for this, difficult to explain what the book is actually about. It's certainly not, as the blurb explains, a twelve point plan for becoming an elder. Indeed, the book concludes by affirming that elders are created by those younger creating room for them. So it won't help you if you want to push yourself over the threshold. It will, however, help you if you are curious about how to repopulate a world bereft of elders, how to tap back into the mystery of the thing.

And that's the best I can do to describe this book. It will delight and confound in equal measure, it will answer everything and nothing at all. It makes me want to spend time in the man's company, to listen to him, learn from him. It is, in short, a wonderful book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenkinson referred to James Hillman as having a “well achieved mind”. I love that phrase, one of many phrases and profound ideas Jenkinson offers in his book. The chapters that made sense made great sense. But there was an awful lot of the book that was incomprehensible to me, even after two or three readings. I’m perfectly prepared to accept that I’m just not intelligent enough. But there’s another thought that runs through my mind. Blaise Pascal famously said, “If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter book.” There’s complexity, which is where Jenkinson resides, and then there’s simplicity on the other side of complexity and that seems to elude him.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In desperate need of an editor. The most provocative and compelling elements of this book are in Jenkinson’s personal stories, which amount to less than a third of the content. The rest rambles in ways that make many sections unreadable. A strong red pen would improve the potency of the case for creating more elders.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up in multi generational household and now having elder relatives and being nearer to elder myself i was particularly interested in this book .A lot of interesting philosophy but a bit heavy for me.I think it would be great reading for anyone who works with geriatric patients or has older people they love in their lives.It would also be good for philosophy and psychology students as well , so it's pretty versatile.Mr Jenkinson has obviously put a lot of time and thought into crafting this ..it was a excellent result .

[Claire Gallant · Rating 1 out of 5]

The topic feels important ... but the writing style is INCREDIBLY egotistical and impossible to wade through. Sad.

[John Everard Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book addressing a crucial issues for our time. The thesis is: There are many more old people today but very few elders. Most books for old people are about health, wealth, nutrition and aging well; all directed to one's self. He discusses the definition of an elder throughout this book in words, stories, history of ancestors and the importance of remembering who we are. This is an indigenous perspective even though he is not indigenous. He begins by saying that elderhood is a function, not an identity. He makes the point that our culture does not values the role of elders. I would say there is not place for a fire for us to gather together to share our stories and celebrate our lives across generations. Our knowledge is held in little boxes that we carry around with us so we do not values memory or our history. We live for the future but we do not know the ground of our past that supports us.
I do think the writing style is sometimes difficult to follow to the point Jenkinson is making. And I could have done with fewer stories to illustrate his points which are to show us the role of an elder.
I thought about giving this a 3 star rating but changed my mind because I think this book is a valuable store of wisdom for our time and hopefully will be read by many people who will take it to heart. That's what this book did for me. It is not meant to be head knowledge but wisdom that shapes the way we (older people) live. He gives me hope that at 80 I still have a contribution to be made to the quality of life in community around me.

[Mike Klaus]

Mr. Jenkinson is a gifted thinker with a grasp of the nuances of language I don't often encounter. But I eventually got bogged down in this book, moved on to something else, and then to a succession of something elses, and have not returned to it. It's still on the shelf I returned it to, so perhaps there's hope someday; although not likely, as the pile of new reads on the side table grows continually.

[Josh Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think George Carlin type humor about the often grim reality of modern culture. A question about what happened to our elders. In a society rich with the aged, we are piss poor with the wisdom of time.
Etymological journeys abound, anecdotes, rich stories, and a heartfelt plea to contend with the time and place you were born into, this book will come back around in my library many more times if I am to be so lucky.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book on our first van camping trip and although I found his writing style hard to read, it has a lot of nuggets of truth in it. Those of us in the last half of our lives have choices to make. Jenkins reminds us that through our lived lives we have accumulated wisdom. The wisdom of surviving our mistakes, of learning from our errors and through it all, persevering. I recommend this book to anyone who want to make sure that they are deliberate about how they live their days.

[Antonia Malchik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I got more out of this book because I've listened to Jenkinson a lot since he was introduced to me through the Pondercast podcast. It's hard not to read it without hearing his voice, and his thoughts about elders and elderhood made me think a lot about citizenship and what it means to be an engaged citizen in a democratic society. I wonder if the things are related at a deep level.

[Arie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find The Case for Elderhood quite relevant and an important topic of discussion for our time and our society. While I enjoyed his stories, I feel they didn't translate to the page easily. Unfortunately, I feel this book fell short from a literary perspective.

[Wrye Sententia]

While it became onerous to finish, it was like granola, not fruit loops. I for one, intend to come of age and embody elderhood in what is, unequivocally, a time of trouble. I appreciate Jenkinson's candor and cadence.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Jenkinson, need I say more? Do yourself (and the world) a favor and read Jenkinson, especially this book.

[Brian Utian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound!!!

[Jana M · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice to listen to. read by the author. he's a beautiful storyteller.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A doozy of a book. Lyrical, cavorting, and insightful. A wonderful and at times quixotic journey through our age and what we've lost and why.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, this is Tankespjärn for me to read and reread.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic prose worthy of a re-read.

[Elana A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

[C.S. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF
There is probably a ton of really good, thought-provoking information in this book. However, the writing style just doesn't work for me.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe needed a better editor... but amazing material.

[Nick Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complex, beautiful and harrowing. We have a lot of work to do as a society to restore honour to the experience of aging and to the aged.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wandering invitation, soporific at times, generally entertaining.