Polyamorous Elders: Aging in Open Relationships

by Kathy Labriola

This book explores the unique group of elders, ages fifty-five and older, who practice some form of consensual nonmonogamy. It covers both the joys and challenges of multiple relationships for elders and explores how their relationships develop and evolve. Polyamorous elders have the complexities of juggling multiple relationships, as well as navigating all the issues of aging: managing medical conditions and disabilities (their own and/or their partners'); assuming caregiving responsibilities for aging relatives; grieving the deaths of parents, siblings, and partners; retiring from careers and starting new lives; and potentially moving into some form of senior living.

Drawing from her extensive clinical and personal experience working with this population, Kathy Labriola provides anecdotes from polyamorous elders' lives, including the constellation of relationships surrounding each individual, couple, or triad. This guide will help health care and mental health clinicians, researchers, and professionals, as well as polyamorous elders and their loved ones, better understand the concerns and diverse lifestyles of this population to better represent and support them.

Genres: Polyamory, Relationships, Nonfiction

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2022

Reviews

[Glen Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathy Labriola’s new book Polyamorous Elders: Aging in Open Relationships is well-researched, highly engaging, and filled with wonderful information. People of every age practice polyamory, and the number of older people practicing open relationships is growing. Some actually begin their forays into open relationships well after retirement age. Kathy Labriola introduces us to the joys and challenges of open relationships in the later years, with case studies and gems of wisdom applicable to everyone.
Glen W. Olson, Author of Fifty Years of Polyamory in America: A Guided Tour of a Growing Movement.