Conscious Aging Digital Bookshelf

Please note: Use the left menu to explore Itineraries by year. 

The Conscious Aging Digital Bookshelf was previously hosted by the UNC Partnerships in Aging Program.

The Conscious Aging Bookshelf, created by Bolton Anthony, Ed.D., is a collection of books, articles, and movies that explore the idea of aging with an ethic of mindfulness, service, and community.

Bolton (1944-2020) was passionate about the emergence of a new paradigm of aging that he believed would create new models for service and community in later life. He founded the nonprofit Second Journey to advance this new paradigm and created an online presence through years of publishing the quarterly journal Itineraries. We are deeply grateful to Bolton’s wife, Lisa, who wished for Bolton’s work to live on in the Partnerships in Aging Program.

We encourage you to use the tabs below to explore the entire collection of articles by topic:
Note: Please continue to scroll down this page to see all tabs.

  1. Aging Intentionally
  2. Community
  3. Service

Artistic Creativity as Renewal in Eldering by Richard Matzkin 

Bird Wisdom by Margaret Owen Thorpe 

Celebration of Age: A Wise Woman Ceremony by Berta Parrish 

Claiming Our Elderhood: Growing Elder and Not Just Older by Ron Pevny

Creativity in Later Life by Janice Blanchard

December Reflections by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Elder Wisdom: Walking the Path of Poetry by Rhoda Neshama Waller

Elder Wisdom by Caroline Bassett 

Epiphany of a Corporate Warrior by Ken Pyburn

Excavations in Three Parts by Bolton Anthony

Extraordinary in the Ordinary by Linda and Jim Henry

Fierce With Age by Carol Orsborn 

Friendships in Later Life by John G. Sullivan

Going with the Flow by Cecile Andrews

Healing the World by Judith Helburn 

Honoring the Cycles of Our Inner Seasons by Deborah Windrum 

Hoping for Hope by Linda Albert

Inner Life and Inner Retirement by Wolfe Zucker

Isn’t This Where We Started? Irony and Remembering in Late Life by Philip Stafford 

Journey to Becoming an Elder by Fred Lanphear

Keeping the Little Things Little… by John Sullivan

Kindling the Flames of Joy by Joan Englander 

Knowing When to Resist, When to Accept by Jim Vanden Bosch

Legacies of the Heart by Meg Newhouse

Life Planning for the Third Age by Meg Newhouse

Living Life at 60 by Deena Berke

Living Mindfully Through All the Hours of Our Days by John G. Sullivan

Markers in the Stream by John G. Sullivan 

Passionate Pursuit of Purpose by Helen Harkness

Paying it Forward by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Peace Through Peaceful Means by Betsy Crites

Portals to Conscious Elderhood by Ron Pevny 

Pursuing the Classics: A Personal Journey and Beyond by Ann Kirkland 

Recognition Rites for Elders by Tom Pinkson 

Seeking an Elder Culture by Connie Goldman

Spring’s Stirrings: The Art of Being a Beginner by John G. Sullivan

Stepping Toward the Sunrise by Trebbe Johnson

The Dance of Spirit in Later Life by Bolton Anthony

The Importance of Being Silly by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

The Inner Work of Eldering by Ron Pevny 

The InternShop by Julie Lopp

The Tao of Longevity by Drew Leder 

The Tapestry of Your Life by Nora Zylstra-Savage 

Vision and Creating the Future You Most Want by Bruce Elkin

Wake Up, Show Up, Lighten Up: The Three Ups to Aging Well by Trish Herbert

Walking Like Lions by Trebbe Johnson

Want a Good Bedtime Story? by Pat Samples

What are the BIG Questions? by Mira Steinbrecher

Work in the Third Age of Life by John G. Sullivan

Writing Your Way: A Guide to Writing and Aging with Spirit by Ellen S. Jaffe

  1. Earth Elders and Conservation
  2. Spirituality
  3. Housing

Asking the Question Differently by Fred Lanphear

Becoming a Force for Change by Barbara Kammerlohr

Earth Corps Councils by Eric Utne

Earth Elder Initiation by Randy Morris

Earth Elders: An Invitation by Fred Lanphear

Elders and the Earth: Return to the Future by John G. Sullivan

Elders and the Practice of Hope by Henry C. Simmons

Honoring Our Elders: Fred’s Amazing Journey by Randy Morris

“Is That Your Father?” Thomas Berry as Mentor by Ted Purcell

My Story, Our Story: A Journey of Healing by Rich Henry

Rites of Passage into Elderhood by Guest Editor Randy Morris

Speaking for the Earth: A Tribute to Connie Mahoney by Nina Tepedino

The Earth as a Sacred Garden by David Wann

The Earth Elder Initiation  of Fred Lanphear by Craig Ragland

Tribute by Jim Clark

What I Learned in an Ecovillage by Françoise Ducroz

  1. Travel
  2. Miscellaneous
  3. Book Reviews

Change by the Way by Jan Phillips

Each Life, A Journey, Each Journey, A Way to Deepen Life by John G. Sullivan

Embarkation by Tony Whedon

from The Captain’s Table by Colin Stuart

How Far Must We Go? by Frances Wood

One Man’s Search for Joy… or at Least a Guinness by Tom Trimbath

Pursuing the Classics: A Personal Journey and Beyond by Ann Kirkland

Re-Entry by Margaret Bendet

Selected Poems by Linda L. Beeman

Solo Journey in a Coupled World by Molly Brewer

The Art of Pilgrimage: Meeting Ancient Wisdom in Copper Canyon by Ron Pevny

The Circumference of Home by Kurt Hoelting

The Dogs of Bhutan by Dianne Shiner

The Long Journey Home: The Odyssey as a Parable of Male Aging by John C. Robinson

The Mirror of Travel: Seeing Myself in The Face of Morocco by Kendall Dudley

We Are the Ones — Working Together by Jan Hively and Moira Allan

Writing Exercises to Engage the Spirit of Travel by Ellen B. Ryan

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