Book Review – From Strength to Strength
Image: From Strength to Strength by Len Lantz (CC BY-NC-ND)
Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 10 out of 10. An exceptional book and guide on navigating and thriving in the second half of life.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD / 11.17.2023; No. 114
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Star Rating – 10 out of 10
Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow
Author
Arthur C. Brooks
About the author
Arthur Brooks is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School where he teaches on the topics of happiness and leadership. He had an early career as a professional musician, and he later obtained his BA in economics from Thomas Edison State College, a master’s degree in economics from Florida Atlantic University, and an MPhil and PhD in public policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School. From 2009 to 2019, he served as president of the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank based in Washington DC. Dr. Brooks is a columnist for The Atlantic and the host of the How to Build a Happy Life podcast. He is the author of 13 books, several of which are bestsellers.
General description
From Strength to Strength is a well-written, easy-to-read book on living a meaningful and happy second half of your life. With chapter titles such as “Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think” and “Kick Your Success Addiction,” readers are treated to a dose of realism on how abilities and intelligence change as we age. Authur Brooks shares these concepts in an accessible and entertaining manner through experiences from his life, the stories of historical figures, and research on aging. The author provides readers who are looking for guidance in life’s second half with meaningful, actionable, and realistic advice.
Unique and most important aspects
From Strength to Strength far surpassed my expectations of a book on the topic of what a person can do about being in midlife. Author Arthur Brooks crafted a fabulous book that can help people from all walks of life better understand and set their direction through middle age into a meaningful and hopeful life in the following decades. The reader will find a thoughtful and mindful text that is both challenging and reassuring. Dr. Brooks not only shares interesting stories from his life and the lives of others but also supports his findings from research on aging, happiness, and satisfaction.
The author delivers on the subtitle: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. In fact, From Strength to Strength should be required reading for everyone age 40 and above – it is a book that I gift to my close friends. I read this book at age 50, and it’s one of the most timely and helpful books I’ve ever read. The author’s experiences and perspectives resonate deeply with me and where I am in life, transitioning from the curve of fluid intelligence to crystallized intelligence. Recognizing and accepting the inevitability of this natural human process has helped me to be happier and to make far-overdue life changes. I am now taking better care of myself and my relationships and am working to address my perpetual pattern of throwing myself out of balance. Important features of this book include:
Explaining the difference and attributes of fluid intelligence versus crystallized intelligence
Describing the curves of fluid intelligence versus crystallized intelligence across the lifespan
Overcoming thanatophobia (the fear of death/dying)
Why the hedonic treadmill increasingly fails people as they age
Developing a “reverse bucket list” to combat unhealthy cravings for money, power, pleasure, and honor, as conceptualized by Thomas Aquinas
Investing time in spiritual development and reflecting on the inevitability of death to find greater meaning in life
The concept of “men sheds” and the story of the Modern Elder Academy
Finding the right mixture of hedonia (feeling good) and eudaimonia (experiencing purpose in life) to promote happiness and meaning
Best quotes
“Among people in professions requiring ideas and intellect rather than athletic skill and significant physical strength, almost no one admits expecting decline before their seventies; some later than that. Unlike athletes, however, they are not facing reality.”
“Great gifts and achievements early in life are simply not an insurance policy against suffering later on. On the contrary, studies show that people who have chased power and achievement in their professional lives tend to be unhappier after retirement than people who did not.”
“Crystallized intelligence, relying as it does on a stock of knowledge, tends to increase with age through one’s forties, fifties, and sixties—and it does not diminish until quite late in life, if at all.”
“But if your career requires crystallized intelligence—or if you can repurpose your professional life to rely more on crystallized intelligence—your peak will come later but your decline will happen much, much later, if ever. And if you can go from one type to the other—well, then you have cracked the code.”
“If you’re experiencing decline in fluid intelligence—and if you are my age, you are—it doesn’t mean you are washed up. It means it is time to jump off the fluid intelligence curve and onto the crystallized intelligence curve. Those who fight against time are trying to bend the old curve instead of getting on to the new one. But it is almost impossible to bend, which is why people are so frustrated, and usually unsuccessful.”
“Even if you are not a religious believer, [Thomas Aquinas’] list rings true as the idols that attract us. They are money, power, pleasure, and honor…Honor here refers to fame—to be known by many.”
“This discipline helps us work on mindfulness—living in the present as opposed to the past or future—which studies consistently find leads us to be happier people. But it also helps us to make the decisions that truly expose our best selves.”
“Remembering that life won’t last forever makes us enjoy it all the more today.”
“The secret to happiness isn’t falling in love; it’s staying in love, which depends on what psychologists call ‘companionate love’—love based less on passionate highs and lows and more on stable affection, mutual understanding, and commitment.”
“In other words, women have real friends; men have more deal friends.”
“Only a shift to intrinsic goals will give you what you really want, and prepare you to get on the second curve, which requires relationships and sharing wisdom in the spirit of love.”
“There is a falling tide to life, the transition from fluid to crystallized intelligence.”
“This is just an example of the age-old debate over two kinds of happiness that scholars refer to as hedonia and eudaimonia. Hedonia is about feeling good; eudaimonia is about living a purpose-filled life. In truth, we need both. Hedonia without eudaimonia devolves into empty pleasure; eudaimonia without hedonia can become dry.”
Who would enjoy this book?
Readers who are interested in a challenging yet balanced and hopeful book that provides both ideas and recommendations for navigating middle age are likely to enjoy From Strength to Strength.
Who would not enjoy this book?
People who are strongly turned off by spiritual topics or who desire a book that only addresses the topic of purpose and aging from one particular religious viewpoint are unlikely to enjoy From Strength to Strength.
Conclusion
From Strength to Strength is an exceptional book and guide on navigating and thriving in the second half of life.