In It Together
Montgomery Place
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Half Meadow Press
ISBN: 0972326944

Making A Retirement Community. Successful Ageing: Taking a Page from the Greatest Generation.

Today, all kinds of retirement communities are springing up; Montgomery Place is an unusual one. Since 1991, it has grown from a kindly institution designed to care for dependent old people to a place where residents have taken charge and created the retirement community they want to live in.

In It Together reflects the myriad voices of Montgomery Place residents. Their stories, sketches, & vignettes bring alive its history, its wealth of creative community involvement, & offer an inspiring kaleidoscope of the lives they've led.

Written by a committee of nine residents of Montgomery Place (hence the author's name on this review), a continuing care retirement facitlity on Chicago's South Side, this is not your average how-to build an “old folks' home” -- it is a colorful quilt of anecdotes, vignettes & insights about what's important to individuals who are making the transition to retirement & collective senior housing.

“Old age is a place to grow to. When still-active people retire, it is important to them to continue to use their talents and abilities. Having a creative role in planning, running, and participating in activities and prorams is a way of continuijng to feel a valuable part of the world.” (p. 2)

Having survived English boarding schools, American summer camp, & Chicago Near North communes, collective living has a certain lure for me. Everything I like about it is highlighted In It Together -- the sense of community, empowerment, humor, whimsy, & wisdom.

In It Together is a work of art & a fascinating read. It is for everyone planning on living with people as they age, for oldsters who want a semblance of normalcy, for youngsters wondering how to keep their parents interested in their own lives, & most certainly for every single person who has anything to do with senior citizens.
(09/11/05)

Rebecca