Simple Lessons for A Better Life: Unexpected Inspiration from Inside the Nursing Home

This perceptive and inspiring book shows that we can learn valuable life lessons from the unique experiences of nursing home residents. Using poignant, illuminating vignettes of his interactions with people facing serious physical, mental, and social challenges, the author illustrates twenty-eight simple, yet profoundly important, lessons for living a richer life-lessons that apply to people at any age.

Dr. Dodgen, a clinical psychologist who has worked with this population for eighteen years, notes that when the surplus trappings of lifestyle are cleared away and lives are stripped to their most essential components, people discover a new path to happiness, peace, and fulfillment. Dodgen shares people’s stories and circumstances that demonstrate how love, meaning, purpose, and contentment can be found even in far-from-ideal situations.

This book offers deeply thoughtful reflections in an easily digestible format and it affirms that no matter our physical, economic, or social limitations, we can remain rich in life. Readers looking for ways to improve relationships, understand and manage feelings more effectively, cope well with challenges, mitigate suffering, and discover greater serenity in their own life circumstances will find a wealth of insights in these concise, enlightening chapters.