Journal of the Eightieth Year

A thoughtful and entertaining journal of the eightieth year in the life of writer and teacher David Bouchier. He begins with an affectionate memory of his father, who died just before achieving the same age. He determines to make the most of the year his father never had. His mini-memoir takes us from birthday to birthday, from winter to winter, each season stimulating memories from the past. Always accompanied by his beloved wife Diane (who claims that he is only six) Bouchier does his best to carry on as if old age was not happening. Determined to stay alive and stay active he obstinately continues to teach a large class in classical music at the local university, deals with all the usual old age illnesses, including increasing deafness, and struggles with his own uncertainty about what full retirement would mean, and whether he is qualified to do it. The journal ends with his ironic reflections on age and death as he heads into uncharted territory.