If there’s one thing to be said about aging, it’s that we all have to do it. Fortunately, we also can learn about aging from those who have written about the journey—which is the goal of a new, four-part “Let’s Talk About It” series at Harper Library in Southport (continues Thursdays, Feb. 27 and March 12, 2-4 PM).
Under the leadership of a knowledgeable moderator, participants in each “Affirming Aging” series program are reading four books about the various paths others have taken to get from here to there, and then sharing their own personal experiences, the bumps in the road as well as the successes.
The books are The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry; Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First Hundred Years by Sarah and A. Elizabeth Delaney; The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence; and Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.
In the first session on January 30, Professor Billy Yeargin from Swansboro, NC, led the program a format that’s holding for each discussion. Yeargin first gave some background on the author along with a brief synopsis of the book. Then the participants formed a circle to dive into more informal conversation.
Over a period of eight weeks, the library will loan a copy of the book to be discussed at the next session to each participant for two weeks. Upon their return, each person receives the next book. This program has been so popular over the years that it is fully subscribed within a few days after the registration date is announced.
And if anyone has to cancel for any of the sessions, Pam Collins, program chair, keeps a wait list and makes sure all 35 chairs are filled each week.
Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council.