This book began, as many projects in the health field do, as an “aha” moment. Early in an Aging and Health seminar taught at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the distinguished lecturers asked the audience what differentiated women’s myocardial infarct symptoms from men’s, and there was a pervasive silence. People had not expected gender to affect symptoms. Nor did the gerontology and medical students know where to begin to find information about men’s health when, in the same week, a geriatrician asked the audience how men report the experience with passing a kidney stone, if women equate it with labor pain. There was no ready sourcebook about men’s health approximating the classic Our Bodies, Ourselves or its companion volume, Ourselves Growing Older. The project was born, and previously unrecognized for their early inspiration are Jeffrey Burl, Deborah Liss Fins, Jim Hamos, Mary Leonard, Lynn Li, Ira Ockene, Susan Rezen, Stephen Roizen, Gary Tanguay, Henry Wiesman, and Rosalie Wolf. Most inspirational was Betty Friedan’s encouragement when the idea for this book was little more than “aha.” We also want to warmly acknowledge Abraham Monk, Jordan Kosberg, Jeffrey Applegate, Gail Werrbach, Sandy Butler, Nancy Kelly, and Nancy Fishwick.
It is certainly difficult to know where to start when it comes to thanking all the people who have contributed to this book. Any significant project in the health field involves a large number of colleagues and assistants, and we are truly grateful to the many people who contributed to this major undertaking. First and foremost, we are deeply indebted to the colleagues identified in the “Contributors” section who worked closely with us to offer very thoughtful suggestions and develop smart, readable chapters. Their contributions made the manuscript into a vastly better book. Along the way many other undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty colleagues also provided invaluable support, and we warmly thank them. Some who contributed especially helpful comments, opportunities to talk through issues, or information as the book developed include Meagan Fisher, Andy Futterman, Ann Marie Leshkowich, Kendal Nielsen, Ivy Pruitt, John Quaresima, Sara Stockman, and Samantha Surface. Thanks also are due to the many graduate and undergraduate students (too numerous to mention) who have focused their education on gerontological health and human services practice over the years at the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Maine, including those enrolled in the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education, the Program in Leadership in Rural Gerontological Practice, and the Interprofessional Graduate Certificate in Gerontology. Their inquisitive nature and unbridled enthusiasm for better understanding and responding to the challenges and opportunities of an aging society have been both extremely contagious and invigorating. Colleagues at the School of Social Work and the Center on Aging at the University of Maine have been powerful forces in refining Kaye’s perspective on so many issues associated with contemporary aging and practice in the human services.
A number of people have read and commented on all or parts of this book. Two anonymous reviewers for the Johns Hopkins University Press read the manuscript and offered many suggestions. We appreciate their investment to make our work into a better book. Thompson’s fall 2009 Men and Aging seminar students read earlier drafts of several chapters, providing invaluable critiques and recommendations for how their fathers would read and react to the information itself and its framing. Kaye’s fall 2009 gerontology seminar students engaged in initial background research on a number of topics addressed in this book, and three of the brightest were eventually recruited to be contributors. We are especially indebted to the colleagues listed in the “Reviewers” section, who graciously accepted the invitation to read and critique a chapter. They brought their expertise and contributed immensely helpful comments to clarify ideas, assist with factual issues, and offer advice. Their influence on this book is tremendous.
This book has received generous assistance along the way from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Maine, especially the Committee on Faculty Scholarship at Holy Cross for its financial assistance for some of the anatomical drawings and for the award of a Batchelor-Ford Faculty Fellowship to complete the book manuscript. Parts of the material within chapters were presented at annual meetings of the Gerontological Society of America, the American Sociological Association, the American Society on Aging, Social Work with and for Men, the Council on Social Work Education, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. We thank the participants at these different venues for their helpful comments.
Regarding the preparation of this book, we greatly appreciate the editorial suggestions made by people at the Johns Hopkins University Press, especially Jackie Wehmueller, executive editor, and Sara Cleary, acquisitions assistant, who provided guidance throughout the process, from contract, to a clear vision for the direction of the book, to the inevitable need for expert editing. As well, we are very thankful for Jeremy Horsefield’s contribution as our copy editor.
We reserve our deepest gratitude for our families, who have stood alongside us throughout. Their ongoing encouragement is heartfelt, as are the countless hours they patiently spent listening, discussing ideas, and normalizing frets. We cannot overstate our gratitude.