One Hundred Year-Old Wisdom

What do a psychoanalyst, a Chinese nun, a retired Hare Krishna, and Saddam Hussein’s doctor have in common? In One Hundred Year-Old Wisdom, Nova Scotia-based cartoonist Rebecca Roher sits down with each of them–and a good many others–to find out.

Cartoonist Rebecca Roher asks, “Just what are the secrets to long life?” The answer might surprise you. For some of the 90-year olds she talks to, it’s activism. For others, it’s tending a garden. For others still, it’s drinking vodka and keeping busy.

One Hundred Year-Old Wisdom collects Roher’s interviews with nonagenarians from around the world in comics form. Everyone from the humble folks of Ikarias in Greece, to Sardinia’s most sought-after centenarians share their stories in an inspiring, funny, and enrapturing peek at the world through the eyes of those who’ve seen it change the most. Roher’s lively tribute to our elders is gorgeously cartooned with fluid inks and airy watercolors, shining a spotlight on their insights into the human condition.

These remarkably lighthearted first-hand accounts of people looking back on their lives in a century of massive cultural and industrial change are a precious resource for all struggling with the uncertainty of our modern times.