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Aging, Spirituality and Pastoral Care: a Multi-National Perspective Editors: ELIZABETH MACKINLAY, JAMES W. ELLOR AND STEPHEN PICKARD Bringhampton, New York: Haworth Pastoral Press, 2002, $U.S. 39.95. Hard cover, pp. 190, ISBN 0 7890 1668 0

This is an easy-to-read 180 pages on an area that is becoming increasingly relevant, not only to the field of aging, but to all fields of health. This book covers an impressive range of issues and challenges in aging, such as topics of late-life wisdom, spirituality and integrity. Further, it bridges theological and ethical dimensions together with the interface of pastoral care and issues of aging. The concept of “dimensional ontology” is relevantly and elegantly described. This certainly widens that lens through which older people and the aging process are perceived. The place of meaning and purpose and the energy from within a person that strives to find this are well described. The chapter “A Developmental Perspective of the Psychosocial and Spiritual Dimensions” by Elizabeth Mackinley is of particular interest. While articulating the need for cognizance in the spiritual dimension, she also appropriately discusses the risks of assigning all things to the spiritual domain at the cost of neglect to the psychosocial domain, which is valuable to older people, who continue to develop. Thus agreeing that while the spiritual dimension in aging seems an important avenue to explore in pursuing holistic care, this should not be at the neglect of other important and relevant dimensions. The chapter on applying a “Model for Spiritual Tasks of Aging” is also interesting, A study is described and a model for identifying and assisting the spiritual tasks of aging is well outlined. This is of particular interest as it offers a framework for developing interventions for health professionals, clergy and pastoral workers. Six major themes are considered in this model. Using a developmental approach to spirituality in aging similar to Erikson’s model of development. Elizabeth Mackinley suggests that it is possible to identify tasks, for each of the six themes identified in her study of the spiritual dimension of aging. She further suggests that these tasks are to be accomplished in order to move towards wholeness and that should be the goal of human beings, although she observes that absolute wholeness is probably not possible in this life, though the goal is to continue growing in the spiritual dimension until death. I believe there may