This edited volume proposes a radical change in perspective, fighting the prevalent ageist culture that tends to relegate the oldest old to isolation and irrelevance. The chapters show that having plans and projects, being involved in life, is possible for those aged 80 and over, as well as for oldest old people with disabilities. Exploring the involvement of oldest old people in various activities that make them feel happy, worthy, and connected, this volume builds on a large empirical literature documenting that a sense of purpose in life is associated with delayed mortality and reduced health risks. In doing so, this book aims to combat widespread ageist attitudes at an interactional and institutional level, and shift the focus from loss and decay to adaptability, involvement, inner strength, and resilience. It illuminates how oldest old people are inventing new meanings for ageing.

Isabella Paoletti is a researcher at CRIS (Social Research and Intervention Center), Perugia, Italy. Her research interests are informed by discourse and narrative analysis, ethnomethodology and ethnography. She has published extensively on gender and ageing and is the editor of Older women in Europe: A human rights-based approach (2022).