AARP Florida volunteers unite to “Disrupt Aging”

Former English teacher Margery Marcus is embarking on a new journey as she takes the idea of a recurring book club into new territory by giving it an added intention: tackling ageism. Marcus’s journey is inspired by AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins’s call to action in her newly published book Disrupt Aging, which encourages people 50+ to live boldly and to reframe the dialog of aging.

Doing just that, Marcus and her book club friends have converged at Northwest Focal Point Senior Center to discuss and challenge the concepts of ageism as defined and interwoven throughout many of the book’s chapters. Within the pages, Jenkins poses questions to her readers asking them to reconsider their thoughts on aging and introspectively ask themselves how they’d live their lives if they didn’t know their age.

While conceptually simple, this meeting of the minds has the potential for the profound as they exchange thoughts, dissect concepts and internalize Jenkins’ messages.

“People were very animated, it’s a great conversation starter,” said Marcus, who has been an AARP volunteer of two years in Broward County. “There’s a concept in the book that there’s an extended middle age and how our retirement is different from our parent’s retirement.”

According to Jenkins, her goal is to share a framework for current and future generations to live better as they go beyond existing in later years to living an enriched life filled with promise and positivity.

It was this framework of ideas that inspired this small community to collectively engage in a vibrant dialogue on contemporary aging challenges.

“You go to the counter at the store and you feel like you’re invisible,” said Marcus, who said she encounters ageism daily. “Society has ideas about aging. My students would look at me and they would see an age and not a person.”

Marcus agrees with Disrupt Aging’s premise that many older adults are “lost” because they are thought to contribute little to society.

Yet, Jenkins disputes that notion contending that older adults contribute to the fabric of society socially and economically in their roles as volunteers, caregivers and grandparents. A recent article in the Washington Post reveals that 74.9 million older adults are not done contributing to the economy.

To keep the momentum going, Marcus is using her previous career experience and current membership in the AARP Speakers Bureau, a panel of speakers who lead diverse discussions on topics of aging, to create a Disrupt Aging discussion template and presentation as tools for future book clubs.

Although changing their own and others’ perceptions around them about age is a key focus, Marcus also embraces the book’s themes of “health, wealth and self” in her materials. By combining these concepts into the book club materials, she helps demonstrate to club members that needs and ambitions evolve instead of decline with each new active decade of life.

“Many Boomers drive changes that society needs to make,” said Marcus, who plans to expand the reach of the book club. “I’ve taken the real possibilities to heart.”

Marcus’s interest in the topic continues to deepen and she plans to share AARP’s message on aging. Her goal at a local level is to spark ongoing discussions throughout the state on how to “disrupt aging.” More universally, Marcus would like to see the topic brought to the front of everyone’s minds where perceptions are reconfigured from an ageist perspective to a productive and positive perspective for life after 50.

The book, Disrupt Aging is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles.

Click here for more on Disrupt Aging.

100% of AARP's royalties from Disrupt Aging book sales support the charitable work of AARP Foundation. Author Jo Ann Jenkins receives no payment or profit from Disrupt Aging book sales. AARP Foundation helps struggling people 50 and older transform their lives through programs that focus on functional and affordable housing, adequate and nutritious food, steady income and strong social bonds.

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