This week on 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with author and journalist Carl Honoré about ageing, slowing down and life transitions. Carl is the author of the books Bolder: How to Age Better and Feel Better about Ageing, and In Praise of Slow. They discuss how slowing down at any stage of life involves self-reflection and the deepening of relationships, and how ageing well shares these same characteristics. Indeed, all transitions between stages of life benefit from slowing down to reflect and to chart one’s own path. They consider the growing cultural shift towards more positive portrayals of ageing, with greater representation of older people in advertising, fashion and on TV, while recognising that progress is still needed. Carl describes both his books as a form of self-therapy, addressing personal struggles with speed, with youth culture and his own fears about turning 50. He argues that slowing down helps with ageing by allowing for better rest, better eating and deeper relationships, and that ‘thinking slow’ becomes more valuable with age, moving from quick reactions to seeing bigger patterns. Carl likens ageing to getting to the next level in gaming, bringing new challenges but also new rewards.
Carl Honoré is a Canadian writer, journalist and author of Bolder: How to Age Better and Feel Better about Ageing. As a journalist he has reported from all over Europe and South America, writing for the Economist, Observer, National Post and Globe and Mail amongst others. His book In Praise of Slow (2004), about the Slow Movement, was an international best seller, and his other books include Under Pressure: Under Pressure: Putting the Child Back in Childhood. He lives in London and has a degree in History and Italian from Edinburgh.
Some Useful Links:
Carl Honoré’s website
TED talk: In Praise of Slow
TED talk: Why We Should Embrace Aging
TED Course: How to Slow Down
BBC Radio 4 Series: Status
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