The Wall Street Journal - USA (2020-11-16)

R10| Monday, November 16, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

JOURNAL REPORT |ENCORE

W

hether you’re looking forperspective,

practical information or just plain dis-

traction from our changing, challenging

world, the following books offer lots of

ideas for staying well fiscally and physi-

cally, for engaging our minds, sustain-

ing our spirits and urging us forward.

depth exploration of the mind-

body science that proves the

value of minding our social bonds.

Ms. Zaraska bundles her deep dive

into the research with numerous

user-friendly suggestions about

how to make new chums and

keep close to all those you care

about. She counsels that, yes,

healthy nutrition and regular

physical exercise certainly rank

high on the must-do list to stay

healthy for the long run. Too of-

ten, though, we fixate on “all the

wrong things: miracle diets, mira-

cle foods, miracle supplements”

that end up yielding minimal, if

any, benefits, beyond dollars spent

and time lost tracking them. Use

those resources, instead, to en-

hance opportunities to connect

and engage with family, friends

and members of your community.

She describes, in detail, how brain

and body can interact to promote

empathy, attachment and other

positive emotions—and at the

same time stimulate molecular

well-being on a physiological level.

By contrast, the physical and emo-

tional stresses resulting from

loneliness, anxiety, pessimism and

hostility wear at both mind and

body, possibly contributing to

heart disease or other ailments.

Her conclusion amounts to a mod-

ern-day Golden Rule. “The very

same efforts that rejuvenate our

bodies and help us live long also

help us grow as people: nurturing

relationships, developing better

mental habits, becoming kinder,

more empathic, more involved in

the community,” she writes. “It ap-

pears that growing humane grows

our centenarian potential.”

• Successful Aging:
  A Neuroscientist
  Explores the Power and
  Potential of Our Lives

By Daniel J. Levitin

Lots of people will tell you that suc-

cessful aging is a combination of

good health, financial security and

other, less-tangible things that one

hopes add up to an abiding sense of

happiness. This guide to successful

aging by Daniel J. Levitin tells us

about strengths we develop over a

lifetime that allow us to do more

than adapt and compensate; they

help us stay at the top of our game.

For example, as Dr. Levitin explains,

the aging brain may process infor-

mation more slowly, but it has in-

creased ability to use that informa-

tion practically, honed from decades

of life experience. The author, trained

in neuroscience and cognitive psy-

chology, overlays discussion of brain

development and human physiology

with workable tips to improve and

retain vitality of mind and body.

These tips go beyond exercise, diet

and cognitive engagement to include

specific advice about sleep habits

and issues surrounding chronic pain.

Dr. Levitin also evaluates the sci-

ence—or lack thereof—behind vari-

ous unproven commercial products

and alternative therapies. Through-

out the book, he debunks myths

about aging, such as the mistaken

belief that depression is more com-

mon in later life, and identifies

strengths that come with age.

• Growing Old:
  Notes on Aging With
  Something Like Grace

By Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

The self-deprecating anthropologist

and author Elizabeth Marshall

Thomas never claims to be a model

for successful aging. But readers of

her engagingly candid and wry

memoir might see her as one. Wis-

dom and insight come easily to this

former explorer and scientist, who

is now 88, widowed and a great-

grandmother in rural New Hamp-

shire. Ms. Thomas scoffs at those

who claim aging begins at 50. It

only starts when your oldest child

is 50, she writes. In the chatty

voice of a lifelong friend, Ms.

Thomas catalogs changes that

time has wrought in the Earth and

in herself. She also entertainingly

weighs decisions she must face as

a result of those changes. Like

whether to leave her home, close

to her son, before she becomes a

burden. And whether to wear

hearing aids. (The inability to hear

others is not altogether unpleas-

ant, she observes.) Each of Ms.

Thomas’s decisions is guided by

her own research. She shares a

lesson she learned from anthropol-

ogy, too, one that she finds partic-

ularly relevant in her life right

now: Retain tight social bonds;

never forget that the evolution of

social species has taught us that

staying in groups is the key to sur-

vival.

• Growing Young: How
  Friendship, Optimism
  and Kindness Can Help You
  Live to 100

By Marta Zaraska

Science journalist Marta Zaraska

has written an engrossing, in-

• The Meaning of Travel:
  Philosophers Abroad

By Emily Thomas

Put aside the meaning of life for a

moment. Why we travel is another

question philosophers have toyed

with over the centuries. And Emily

Thomas, a philosophy professor at

Durham University in England, finds

some very good answers. This intrigu-

ing new book explores how travel has

broadened the minds of great think-

ers whom we don’t usually think of as

vagabonds or tourists. Montaigne, for

instance, marveled at the way travel

compels us to observe and contem-

plate “new and unknown things,”

while Descartes credited his wander-

ings with making him more accepting

and tolerant of other cultures. More

than a travelogue ofphilosophes,Prof.

Thomas’s book looks at how thinking

about travel has evolved, and how ob-

servations about travel across the

ages continue to influence how we

think about our own experiences to-

day. Contemporary philosophers ask,

How do we weigh our desire to visit

endangered sites against the worry

that such visits may harm them? This

armchair-travel treat will whet the ap-

petite for future trips.

• American Birds:
  A Literary Companion

Edited by Andrew Rubenfeld and

Terry Tempest Williams

Whether you are a longtime bird-

watcher or simply enjoy looking up

when you hear birdsong, this book of

prose and poetry offers an anthology

of knowledge and joyful inspirations

derived from America’s multitudinous

bird species. Selections include: Na-

tive American songs about birds;

journal entries by John James Audu-

bon and explorers Lewis and Clark;

musings by Ralph Waldo Emerson

and Henry David Thoreau; bird-in-

spired poems by Emily Dickinson,

Elizabeth Bishop and Louise Erdrich,

among others; bird-feeder tips from

journalist Faith McNulty; and ecologi-

cal perspectives and warnings about

the disappearance of certain species

going back to President Theodore

Roosevelt. Every reader will find a

spirit-soaringfavorite.Mine: Walt

Whitman’s evocation of a dozen

birds whistling, chirping trilling, “sing-

ing deliciously,” making sounds “wild,

simple, savage, doubtless, but so

tart-sweet,” to create the most ex-

quisite open-air concert imaginable.

Ms. Coleis a writer in New York.

Email:[email protected].

• Retirement by Design:
  A Guided Workbook for
  Creating a Happy and
  Purposeful Future

By Ida O. Abbott

Would you like a blueprint for

your future based on your val-

ues, goals, family concerns and

financial situation? This practi-

cal guide by retirement consul-

tant Ida O. Abbott tells you how

to make one. It starts with get-

ting you to explore your atti-

tudes—both positive and nega-

tive—about leaving your job,

career or business. Next up:

Think about who you want on

your personal advisory and sup-

port team, because you’re going

to need one. Obvious choices

should be family and close

friends whom your personal de-

cisions will affect. Other mem-

bers should include trusted pro-

fessionals, such as your financial

adviser and physician. In addi-

tion to addressing practical is-

sues like finances and family re-

sponsibilities, Ms. Abbot asks

probing questions about your

values, goals, interests and

dreams. Answering these ques-

tions will help you fashion a fu-

ture that accommodates all of

those factors. She’ll also help

with figuring out what comes

next, whether it’s in volunteer or

philanthropic work, taking

courses, or joining clubs or com-

munity groups. An extensive ap-

pendix contains lots of addi-

tional helpful information and

resources.

Great Books About Retirement and Aging

This year’s crop of titles include those from a neuroscientist, an anthropologist and a philosopherBy Diane Cole

Second Acts

Her Mother loved Mahjong. Now, in Retirement, She Teaches It.

Toby Salk

• Age: 69


• Hometown:Berkeley, Calif.


• Primary Career:Director of creative
  services for a major retail catalog


• Current Path:Mahjong instructor


• Why This Path:“In Mahjong, all
  the people I teach are getting
  community, exercising their brains
  and getting a new skill. It’s very
  exciting for me to see that.”

Toby Salk, who grew up in a small

house in New York City, has fond memo-

ries of sitting on the stairs in her paja-

mas, eavesdropping on her mother’s

Mahjong games.

“I remember hearing the tiles and the

murmur,” she says. Now, in retirement,

she is making a career of teaching the

game to others.

Ms. Salk, now 69 and living in Berke

ley, Calif., worked for 30 years at a retail

company, finishing up her time there as

director of creative services for the cat-

alog business in 2008.

The following summer, 58 and looking

for something new, she took the advice

of a friend and decided to try her hand

at teaching Mahjong. The friend had a

bakery and offered it to Ms. Salk for an

evening class. And when the friend

promised to provide pastries, Ms. Salk

says, she couldn’t resist.

While the game has different versions,

players of American-style Mahjong, which

Ms. Salk teaches, generally collect and give

away tilesin an effort to match combina-

tions of patterns shown on a tri-fold card.

Before launching the class, Ms. Salk—

who started playing regularly when she

was 26—thought she should first play in

some tournaments to gain experience. At

her first tournament, she felt so much

pressure, she says, she wanted to leave

before the winners were announced. She

was shocked to hear her name called as

the winner.

“I thought, ‘I’m doing the right thing. I’m

really good at this and I can help other

people be good at this, too,’ ” she says.

Over the past 11 years, she says, she has

taught hundreds of students of all levels.

“I love the people I meet, and teaching

them something new,” Ms. Salk says. “I

love creating new communities, connect-

ing strangers who become best friends.”

Before the pandemic began, Ms. Salk

taught each month in person about five

classes of eight students each—in seven-

to eight-hour units—and gave roughly 12

presentations a year about Mahjong and

its history at spas and private clubs in the

Bay Area. She also hosted a monthly

brunch for players.

Now, due to social distancing and lock-

downs, she mostly gives presentations on

Zoom. Back in April she led a series of

classes on Zoom for players with some

Mahjong skills already. But recently for two

days at a spa in Arizona, she gave classes

for beginners in person. The classes were

taught in an open-air room with everyone

wearing face masks, she says.

“When we grow older, the things that

keep us engaged and sharp in our mind

are having a community of learning some-

thing new, of pushing your brain a bit,”

Ms. Salk says. “In Mahjong, all the people I

teach are getting community, exercising

their brains and getting a new skill. It’s

very exciting for me to see that.”

Ms. Salk hopes to continue playing Mah-

jong as long as her mother, who died three

weeks short of her 100th birthday. She re-

calls watching her play on her 97th birthday.

“My mom sat down and within moments

called ‘Mahjong,’ ” she recalls. “She won. I

really think it helped to keep her sharp.”

—Julie Halpert

The game of Mahjong is something Toby Salk has enjoyed for most of her life.