Elaine Partnow wrote this introduction for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Your True Age, which she co-authored with her sister Judith Hyman, Ph.D. You will see the work a book’s introduction can do for managing readers’ expectations of how a book is ordered and how they will participate in learning.

Youth is as much a state of mind as it is a time and place in life. Just as in our later years we can be very young in some things, so, during our so-called “youth,” we may be very old in others.

The Complete Idiots Guide to Your True Age is predicated on the theory that within each of us exists many ages; we call these age quotients. The book is designed to help you find out just what your personal age quotients are.

Thirteen Candles

In 1983 Howard Gardner introduced the world to his theory of multiple intelligences in his seminal book, Frames of Mind. Each of us, he theorized, possesses varying capabilities and potential in at least six areas: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, and personal. The traditional attitude about intelligence, with tests to measure one’s IQ (intelligence quotient), did not, Gardner argued, take into account these other intelligences. Since that time, others who support Gardner’s view have added two more intelligences: naturalistic-nature smart, and, instead of personal, interpersonal and intrapersonal (how well you know yourself and how well you know others).

Eight intelligences. So why should we be stuck with only one age?

A lemon tree, like everything else, has a chronological age. But what are the ages of the lemons it bears? Each has its season, and within that, its own age. So it is with us. The fruits we bear during infancy are quite different from those of adolescence. The varying seasons of early, middle, and late adulthood all blossom anew, bearing fresh fruit, green fruit that needs ripening.

Each cell in your body has its own age. Some renew themselves every few days, others over a period of several years. How old are your kidneys, your fingernails, your skin, your hair? Part of these changes is a deterioration process and part a constant rebirth. It is a dialectic of life, as changing and as constant as the sea.

 As we attain experience, develop skills and grow our perceptions, our comprehension of the world around us changes. Old value systems may drop away much as ripe fruit drops from the bough, making room for the flowering and inevitable fruition of new growth. Examine your work ethic, your spiritual goals, the values you place on family, friends, possessions, hobbies. Are they the same now as they were twenty, even ten years ago? Probably not. So how “old” are they?

You may wonder why we chose a lemon tree to illustrate our point. Why not peaches or apples? Who wants to be compared to a lemon? In America, aging is like a lemon — a bitter fruit. But by adding a little sweetener and plenty of fresh water, a delightfully refreshing lemonade can be concocted. Or by adding a little salt and tequila, a rip-roaring fun time can be had. Rather than being sour, a lemon — like age — can be part of the seasoning of life — natural, cleansing, strengthening, enjoyable, intoxicating. It can be mixed and enjoyed by all ages, for all ages.

Each chapter begins with a series of questions to help establish your Age Quotient (AQ) for that category. Some of you may be shocked to find you have an elevated age in one section and a juvenile age in another. Remember, age has a different meaning in each section of the questionnaire. When dealing with fitness or medical age, clearly a youthful age quotient is desirable; when dealing with work age, it is not (you don’t still want to be delivering newspapers on your bicycle, do you?).

If one of the figures in your age profile looks out of whack with the others, look back at the questions heading that chapter and see if one of them doesn’t pinpoint a particular area that you might want to reappraise or examine.

Some Age Quotients will be quite a bit higher than your actual age. Are you thinking, “Oh, gee, that’s bad”? Guess again. Maturity, wisdom, self-knowledge — these are some of the rewards a person earns from putting in some time on this good earth. Possession of these traits will boost several of your AQs, as would a stable home life and a solid self-image.

If you have a good position in society, economic security, and are in stride with the times, it is likely that your AQs in these areas will be higher than your chronological age. If your AQs in these areas are low, use that as a clue to re-examine your work possibilities or your awareness of the world around you.

The quizzes are not scientific examinations of aging. Nor do they attempt to fit you into a mold. What they do offer is a self-appraisal guide aimed at raising your age consciousness. There is no set scale by which to measure your — or anyone’s — age quotients. Your own good judgment and earnestness in learning about yourself are the basic prerequisites that can turn this book into a helpful tool.

When you’ve completed all the quizzes, with a simple formula, you can add up all your Age Quotients plus your chronological age to discover your True Age.