Gray Love narrates stories about the most common themes – searching for and (perhaps) finding love. Forty-five men and women between ages 60 and 94 from diverse backgrounds talk about dating, starting or ending a relationship, embracing life alone or enjoying a partnered one. The longing for connection as old age encroaches is palpable here, with more and more senior singles searching online. Those who find new partners explore issues that most relationships encounter at any age, as well as some that are unique to elder relationships. These include having had previous partners and a complicated and deep personal history; family and friends’ reactions to an older person’s dating; alternative models to marriage (such as sharing space or living apart); having more than one partner at the same time; one’s aging body, appearance, and sexuality; and the pressure of time and the specter of illness and death.
About the Author
NAN BAUER-MAGLINis Professor Emerita at the City University of New York. She has published eight collections (six with coeditors) on topics such as step-families, retirement, feminism, death, dying and choice, and older parenting. Her latest book is Widows’ Words: Women Write on the Experience of Grief, The First Year, The Long Haul, and Everything In Between.
DANIEL E. HOOD is a retired professor of sociology. He taught at several New York Metro area schools for four decades. His latest book is Redemption and Recovery: Parallels of Religion and Science in Addiction Treatment. His memoir essay, “Better Late Than Never,” was recently published in Tick Tock: Essays on Becoming a Parent After 40.
Praise For…
"Everything you wanted to know about late-life dating and mating...and then some, from wide-ranging personal accounts." — Susan Gubar
"These are fresh, new voices that give dignity, pathos, humor, and warmth to the search for love, or finding love, in the third or fourth quartile of life. This is a book that people of a certain age should read--but also people who will, I hope, reach a certain age--because they should know that love and passion can exist way beyond reproductive years." — Pepper Schwartz
"Cupid’s got a lousy sense of humor. We just keep longing for romance and companionship—even in our nineties. Love’s a drive--like thirst and hunger. And this book shows the yearning (and resignation) among older folks with touching delicacy and exquisite sophistication. It’s a treasure." — Dr. Helen Fisher
"An inspiring collection of personal stories from individuals seeking emotional and physical relationships in their later years. Their honest, insightful, and poignant narratives are a worthwhile addition to age studies." — Ellyn Lem
"Stories are written from the perspective of 32 women and 13 men [and] contributors range in age from 59 to their 90s. This is not a how-to-date volume but one exploring different viewpoints for consideration...[C]ompanionship never wanes, even with age." — Library Journal, starred review
"These are fresh, new voices that give dignity, pathos, humor, and warmth to the search for love, or finding love, in the third or fourth quartile of life. This is a book that people of a certain age should read--but also people who will, I hope, reach a certain age--because they should know that love and passion can exist way beyond reproductive years." — Pepper Schwartz
"Cupid’s got a lousy sense of humor. We just keep longing for romance and companionship—even in our nineties. Love’s a drive--like thirst and hunger. And this book shows the yearning (and resignation) among older folks with touching delicacy and exquisite sophistication. It’s a treasure." — Dr. Helen Fisher
"Everything you wanted to know about late-life dating and mating...and then some, from wide-ranging personal accounts." — Susan Gubar
"An inspiring collection of personal stories from individuals seeking emotional and physical relationships in their later years. Their honest, insightful, and poignant narratives are a worthwhile addition to age studies." — Ellyn Lem
