In the Arms of Elders: A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building

William H. Thomas, MD
VanderWyk & Burnham (2006)
ISBN 1889242101
Reviewed by Joe Graham for Reader Views (1/07)

Most of us have visited nursing homes and have been sad and depressed at the frail, unhappy people that we have seen there. We feel bad for the people who are in the home whether they are friends or family and we hope that a similar fate will not be part of our future.  Thomas, in “In the Arms of Elders,” attempts to change the way we think about the elderly with what he calls “A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building.”

The book tells the fictional story of a young couple, medical professionals, Bill and Jude who think they have all the answers about how to deal with the elderly. On a vacation, they are shipwrecked on a mysterious island named Kallimos, and they are forced to rethink the way they think about the elderly. With wise council and stories, two of the elder residents of the island, Hannah and Haleigh help Bill and Jude adjust to life on Kallimos.
           
In her first lesson, Hannah teaches them that the three plagues of the elderly are loneliness, helplessness and boredom.  Does that sound very much like the atmosphere of most nursing homes?  Then Hannah goes on to teach them that “Elders exist because they show us how to make a community. As we give to them, they give to us their wisdom, their experience, their affection. When we come together to meet their needs, we learn how to live as human beings.” 

After a year on the island, Bill and Jude are washed back into their life in the Other World and at this point the parable ends and Thomas talks about the changes that can and should be made in nursing homes. With his wife, he has created a different kind of world for people living in nursing homes called The Eden Alternative.  His Eden Alternative philosophy is currently in practice in every state in the U.S. and all over the world.  The Green House, another project of the author is a new way of looking at elderly care and it “is inspired by the richness of close personal relationships and the healing power of community.”

I would recommend the book to anyone who thinks that there must be something better than most nursing homes that run rampant with the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom.  Thomas gives the reader a great deal to consider but he does it in a very loving, comforting way. After reading the book, most readers will be curious to find out more about the Eden Alternative and The Green House and the author provides a list of contact information and web sites.
           
Thomas and his wife are in the forefront of a movement to change the face of elder care as we currently know it and hopefully the changes will be in place as the baby boom generation finds itself in need of that care. We can only hope that the love and respect for elders and for keeping them a vital part of the community that Thomas espouses in “In the Arms of Elders” will be the norm in  elder care in the years to come.

Make comment on weblog