Book Review:  The Wonder Years

If you’ve ever needed a light-hearted bit of inspiration or an empowering perspective of aging, The Wonder Years, Portraits of Athletes Who Never Slow Down by Rick Rickman and Donna Wares, may be just the solution.  In his role as the official photographer of the National Senior Games (otherwise known as the Senior Olympics), Rick became fascinated with the athletes who participate in the annual event and the spirit behind the achievement. 

While the focus of the book is the National Senior Games, he also captures the pictures and stories of older adults who participate in a broad range of athletic activities across the country.  His photos reflect older adults who are passionate about body building, surfing or ice hockey, field hockey or synchronized swimming, cattle roping or track and field events.  And the people are beautiful- well-toned and wrinkled!

The book relies primarily on photography to capture the spirit; however, the written stories add delightful background material and help convince us that anyone with a can-do attitude and willing spirit can be an athlete.  My favorite quote came from an 81 year old surfer, “I don’t think you can be too old to be stoked.”

Not everyone can be a nationally competitive athlete, but at Dignity Care Consulting, we believe in capturing the spirit and encouraging our clients to enjoy the benefits of living at their highest level of physical function.  Contact us if we can help you or someone you know capture the spirit.