Jen Wilkin Reframes What It Means to Grow Older

from Our Editors

1 min read ⭑

Jen Wilkin

Jen Wilkin’s new book, “Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World,” takes on a subject many of us would rather avoid. Released July 21 by Crossway, the 208-page book offers a biblical vision of aging that pushes back against the pressure to remain young, independent and endlessly productive.

Wilkin frames life as an arc. We begin dependent on others, gradually gain strength and responsibility, and often return to dependence as we grow older. Rather than treating that return as failure, she sees it as part of God’s design. The later years may involve physical loss, but they can also bring perspective, wisdom, deeper relationships and greater clarity about what matters.

“As aging sets in, we tend to think only of what we will lose in our appearance,” Wilkin writes. “We forget to ask what might be gained in our souls.”

The book also gives thoughtful attention to caregiving. Wilkin argues that older people should be viewed as people to love, not problems to manage. Receiving care does not reduce someone’s dignity, and providing it is not an interruption to real life.

“Dust to Dust” is not mainly about preparing to die. It is about learning to receive every season of life as meaningful — and living the years we have with wisdom, humility and hope.