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Synopsis

Due to publication problems this book was cancelled.

Aging, with its accompanying sense of loss and the passage of time, has the potential to be psychologically painful for everyone, but it can be particularly complicated for gay men. Our early life is often marked by an inability to relate to other males in childhood and adolescence. Once we identify ourselves as openly gay in young adulthood, we may achieve a new sense of fulfillment, but the ways we connect to other gay men may also make us feel particularly vulnerable as we age. And gay men now reaching forty may find themselves without appropriate role models for successful aging just when we need them most, having lost a significant number of older gay men in the first decades of the AIDS epidemic who might otherwise now be exemplars of adapting, even thriving, as they face the prospect of getting older.

Connecting to the Right Side of Forty follows a step–by–step program that the author has developed working for over two decades with clients. The book draws upon the insights of clinical practice, the life–stories of gay men, and the practical benefit of cognitive therapy in a work tailored specifically to the unique needs of gay men in the twenty–first century who are now struggling with aging without the example of older mentors. Instead of viewing our adventure of interacting with gay men as coming to an end at mid–life, Bergeron's method reveals how much we have yet to accomplish in learning about ourselves and how to connect differently with others. Through his book gay men will see mid–life as an exciting and transformational voyage to embark upon in our years after forty.