The Importance of Being Ironic: Narrative Openness and Personal Resilience in Later Life

This essay applies a narrative perspective to the topic of resilience. On various fronts (physical, social, biographical), aging itself, it argues, pushes us past a perception of aging as intrinsically tragic and toward a more ironic stance instead, one marked by increased acceptance of uncertainty and ambiguity. Moreover, intentional engagement in narrative reflection-by means of integrative reminiscence, life review, and the like-fosters such a stance directly by facilitating narrative openness and, with it, "a good strong story" for coping with the challenges of later life.