The book From Zero to One Hundred is coming out. A guide to aging well in the Czech Republic
Press Release - Prague - 2. 2. 2023
Eleven stories of seniors and eleven essays. This is the content of a book published these days by Elpida. It reflects twenty years of experience of this non-profit organization in working for the elderly. If you want to have a good and fulfilled old age, start thinking about it now.
Half of the children born in developed countries after the year 2000 have the chance to reach their 100th birthday. Even today's thirty-somethings can half expect to live to ninety-five.
But what to do with that many years? And what do we need to live them well? These were the questions that accompanied the book's editor, Jiří Hrabě, the long-time director of Elpida, when he and his colleagues started putting together the texts for the book at the beginning of last year.
"I soon came to the conclusion that I wanted to look close to the answers. As close as possible. So I approached my colleagues to think about the topics and try to reach out to their relatives, parents, grandparents or close colleagues in their senior years," Hrabě recalls. The result was a unique and very personal confession of people reflecting on topics such as housing, home care, death or the loss of a partner. The book does not paint reality in pink; crises and worries belong to old age, but one can prepare for them well. If you start preparing early.
Each interview is followed by an essay by a respected expert who takes a society-wide perspective on the topic. You can look forward to essays by gerontologist Zdeněk Kalvach, sociologist Lucie Vidovičová, or psychologist Martin Loučka. "We all agree that it is not really important how long you live. It is much more important to live it truly and fully. And we certainly don't have to wait for old age to do that. It is good to start now," adds Jiří Hrabě.
The author's team, which prepared thematic essays for the interviews, included prominent personalities from various fields - sociologists Lucie Vidovicová, Olga Starostová, Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková, Stanislav Biler, and theologian Marek Orko Vácha, gerontologist Zdeněk Kalvach, psychologist Martin Loučka, disinformation expert Jaroslav Valůch, director of the Sue Ryder Home Matěj Lejsal, head of the Elpida educational and cultural centre Jan Bartoš and psychologist and head of the Senior Citizens' Line Kateřina Bohatá.
We talked about the book in our podcast Old's Cool, episode How to grow old in the Czech Republic.
You can order the book online here. You will not only get a great read, but you will also support projects for the elderly in Elpida.
Media contact
Iveta Čížová ~ PR ~ iveta.cizova@elpida.cz ~ +420 773 480 505
Jan Bartoš ~ Head of the Elpida Cultural and Educational Centre ~ jan.bartos@elpida.cz ~ +420 777 037 112
Elpida means hope in Greek. But it is also the name of an organization that helps seniors remain a confident and respected part of society. In the spirit of the Old's Cool motto, Elpida is changing the way people look at old age - it runs the Elpida Educational and Cultural Centre for seniors from all over Prague and the Senior Crisis Line, founded the brand Socks from Grandma, publishes the magazine VITAL, and organizes the intergenerational Old's Cool festival. In short, she is trying to make Czech seniors lead a full & happy life.