In 21st century America, as people live longer than ever before, it’s taken for granted that older adults should be self-reliant.
News stories describe nonagenarians who run marathons, reality shows feature attractive older women competing for the love of a widowed bachelor, and policymakers encourage aging “in place” rather than in a nursing home.
In “Chasing Independence,” Guillermina Altomonte asks what happens when independence becomes the yardstick by which we measure the quality of old age.
