This book was an excellent read with scientific basis. The study had a control group: all the nun's from a particular order, which included women from all walks in life. I was fascinated to find that some nuns with advanced Alzheimer's had no symptoms. I think one of the greatest messages of this book was that attitudes are so influential for the pleasant condition of aging. In other words, be positive, think positive and live positive and your life will be much better.

Dr. David Snowden chose the School Sisters of Notre Dame as his subjects for a study on aging. Members of a religious community make particularly good test subjects because of the similarity of their diet and other lifestyle factors. In order to get permission from the Mother Superior, Dr. Snowden had to promise to respect them as individuals. The initial study went so well that Dr. Snowden expanded it to include several other convents from the same order. The fact that the sisters had been required to write an essay, upon acceptance into the order, made it possible for Dr. Snowden an his colleagues to conduct a longitudinal study of mental acuity in aging. The Nun Study has become an important study on Alzheimer\'s disease. Dr. Snowden writes well. As he recounts the various phases of the study, he describes individual nuns he came to know well. He details the results of his study and explains the implications. Although it is of greatest concern to seniors, the information this book contains should interest readers of any age. Ten members attended this meeting, but only seven had actually read the book; the rest came to hear the discussion. Those who had read the book gave Aging with Grace an average rating of 4.1.