Discovering a good age

In the past, gerontologists often used sick or institutionalized people in their research. As a result, aging came to be seen as a time of decline filled with problems. Even today some of the best research dwells on the problems that come with age. To balance this view, in a recent study I spoke with over sixty of the "best" older people I could find. These were people who exemplified a good age--they were healthy, happy, active, involved and eager to tell about their lives. From their comments, it appears that a good age does not happen by accident. It is something people work for and discover for themselves; a process described in this paper.