At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade the longest
longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new
old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years and often become more fulfilling than
before. Begun in 1938 the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional
health of over 200 men starting with their undergraduate days. The now-classic Adaptation to
Life reported on the men's lives up to age 55 and helped us understand adult maturation. Now
George Vaillant follows the men into their nineties documenting for the first time what it is
like to flourish far beyond conventional retirement. Reporting on all aspects of male life
including relationships politics and religion coping strategies and alcohol use (its abuse
being by far the greatest disruptor of health and happiness for the study's subjects) Triumphs
of Experience shares a number of surprising findings. For example the people who do well in
old age did not necessarily do so well in midlife and vice versa. While the study confirms
that recovery from a lousy childhood is possible memories of a happy childhood are a lifelong
source of strength. Marriages bring much more contentment after age 70 and physical aging
after 80 is determined less by heredity than by habits formed prior to age 50. The credit for
growing old with grace and vitality it seems goes more to ourselves than to our stellar
genetic makeup.
