“This is the most important, beautifully conceived, and well-written book on housing and residential alternatives for elderly populations written to date. This creative, thoughtful, and problem-focused book confirms why Dr. Stephen Golant is recognized internationally as a foremost leader in environmental gerontology. It should be required reading for all researchers, students, applied professionals, community planners, and policy-makers concerned with improving the quality of life of elders. Golant has provided a major service to gerontology in this sweeping, evidence-informed treatment of why place – both objective and experienced – is central to understanding and improving the well-being of diverse groups of older adults. It is a timely ‘pendulum-corrective’ for the New Gerontology paradigm of successful aging, which holds older adults themselves responsible for many of the problems they experience within residential settings. It usefully evaluates the current ‘aging-in-place’ mantra, showing the upside as well as the limitations it places on alternative housing options. Golant uses his theory of residential normalcy – and the common need of older adults to experience a sense of comfort as well as mastery in one’s abode – to illustrate how and why places may no longer suit these needs and what diverse groups of elders do when this occurs. Importantly, he offers practically-oriented options that address coping, housing modifications, alternative housing options, as well as caregiver and community-level supports to achieve improved fit between the housing needs of older persons and their resources. Psychologist Kurt Lewin once said, ‘There’s nothing so practical as a good theory.’ Golant’s book illustrates this beautifully. It succeeds because Golant’s focus doesn’t divert down intellectual rabbit holes. It is a scholarly book based on a wide array of solid evidence; at the same time, it is an inviting, interesting read because it remains practically and realistically focused on the well-being of older adults themselves. Their voices inform this book and have informed Golant’s theory from its inception. I wish I had written this book! Failing that, it provides a perfect model of translation research, one of the best produced in environmental gerontology.” — Dr. Rick J. Scheidt Professor School of Family Studies and Human Services Kansas State University
