You might think Dr. Robert Butler was holding a Magic 8 Ball 40 years ago when he recognized the discrimination against the elderly and coined the term, “ageism.” What he thought then has become the world we live in now.
Butler, a gerontologist and psychiatrist, won a Pulitzer Prize for his publication, “Why Survive? Being Old in America,” and his new book is already receiving accolades. “The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life,” says that the financial challenge of growing older is the biggest.
Longevity is Butler’s specialty. He established the U.S. branch of the International Longevity Center and created the concepts of productive aging and successful aging. At 80 years old, Butler started thinking about aging early on, and it has paid off.
He talks with Growing Bolder about peoples’ chances to living to 100 and how we can help ourselves get there.