Successful Aging as a Contemporary ObsessionIn recent decades, the North American public has pursued an inspirational vision of successful agingstriving through medical technique and individual effort to eradicate the declines, vulnerabilities, and dependencies previously commonly associated with old age. On the face of it, this bold new vision of successful, healthy, and active aging is highly appealing. But it also rests on a deep cultural discomfort with aging and being old. The contributors