Most books focus on positive ageing, and prefer to ignore the challenges of the fourth age, the age of frailty. This book, which tells the stories of the oldest of people, in care homes, through the lenses of chaplains, will be of immense value to all who work with older people. It also challenges the mainline churches to accept the ageing of both society and churches, to address the special needs for spiritual growth and nurture as well as pastoral care of older people. -- Elizabeth MacKinlay
"A beautiful and instructive book about the oldest old in Britain today that demonstrates the value of listening and attending to them with empathy. It has important messages not only for Christian churches but for all those interested in improving care standards for the ageing members of our society". -- Peter Coleman
“This book will help us all learn how to age as well as we can with or without a faith to guide us. It provides authentic voices from older people, from narrators and interpreters the combination of which make it a rare and important read”. -- Harriet Mowat
This is an important book from which we learn that the very old should be taken seriously, listening to their stories is not for them alone and the Church should review its mission strategy to older people. It is a book which makes a new contribution to the pastoral and spiritual care of the very old. Chaplains working with the very old should read it, but its value extends well beyond this to everyone engaged in pastoral ministry. -- Jocelyn Bryan
