Storying Later Life is an intriguing, challenging and complex read. The basic premise of the book is that we all story our lives, all the time, for different people, different situations; the story changes and develops as our life changes and this story is central to the way we see our selves and our identity and how we make meaning out of our existence. The authors in this book look at the challenges growing old can bring to this process and how narrative work can be pivotal in re-establishing a sense of identity and self when societal ageism, communal care home living, depression or dementia can take this away. Narrative therapy and research is well established in academia and narrative approaches to working with older people, using reminiscence and life storying, has been part of many professionals' approaches in health and social care in the United Kingdom for some years. This book is unique in its exploration of the theoretical underpinning, the evidence base and the practical applications that this narrative ‘take’ on the ageing process can bring to individuals, groups and services for older people.

The book is in three sections, the first one looks at the theoretical questions and issues around narrative and work with older people; the second at some research projects which look at whether and how narrative, storying and recounting memories can influence a person's sense of wellbeing and ‘ego integration’ (Erickson); and the third section looks at some applications to practice. There are writers from many different backgrounds, disciplines, and countries and the discussions range from the personal to the wider societal implications of narrative and storying in lives. In the first section there is an attempt to locate this narrative ‘take’ on growing old in both a philosophical and a conceptual sense. Amongst other things these chapters look at issues around ‘narrative foreclosure’ – when a person may feel they have no future and their story has come to an end – and at biographical construction and narrative identity. There is a connecting thread which looks at how narrative work with people can offer them the opportunity to re-story their lives and find an acceptable identity and sense of self. The second section looks at some research studies including one about what happens when stories are left untold: such as those of older people who were Nazi followers in Germany during the Second World War. Other studies look at the body as a site for storytelling; the ‘Raging Grannies’ group and counter stories about ageing; gender differences and narrative interpretations of life; narrative coherence after trauma; and the use of self-defining memories in couples work. The final section looks at narrative interventions, using reminiscence and life review both on an individual level and an organisational level. This section asks the reader to consider that narrative care is at the ‘heart of good care’ (p. 336) and is a plea for a less medical model of health and a wider concept of health and wellbeing which puts the person and their story at the centre of every service.

The chapters are diverse and thought provoking and bring many related and varied themes of narrative gerontology together as a coherent approach to new and positive ways of working with older people in health and social care. This book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners alike.