Separate the facts from the fears about memory loss.
For many older people and their families, the fear of progressive memory loss is the chief anxiety about aging. To them, lapses that younger people would laugh off as distraction may seem the early symptoms of an inevitable decline into senility. The good news is that most of these fears are unfounded. Kathleen Gose, a social worker, and Gloria Levi, a gerontologist, both have had years of experience working with older adults. They developed Dealing with Memory Changes to provide upbeat, practical answers to seniors' most pressing questions:

• What memory changes are normal with age?
• How does memory work and what conditions other than age can affect it?
• How does age affect intelligence and the ability to learn?
• What are the best strategies for remembering everyday details-such as house keys, shopping lists, and names?
• What signs indicate a need for help?

Plus, invaluable information on how memory is affected by nutrition, depression, stress, prescription drugs, alcohol, exercise-and much more.