Five books to support your wellbeing aged 50 and beyond

As we live longer, the years beyond 50 are increasingly being recognised not as a period of decline, but as an important new chapter in our lives. Questions around strength, mobility, nutrition, happiness and purpose become increasingly important as we look not simply to live longer, but to stay healthy, independent and fulfilled for as long as possible.

Here are five books that offer fresh perspectives on staying strong, healthy and fulfilled at 50 and beyond, with practical advice and inspiration for anyone looking to make the most of the years ahead.

Best read for: Staying strong, mobile and independent

Built to Last After 50: The truth about arthritis, strength, and staying independent

Phil Evans

Rethink Press, £16.99

According to AgeUK’s 2025 GP Patient Survey, 3 out of 5 people (59%) aged 55-64 say their long-term condition or illness reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. When they do choose to seek help, many are given painkillers and a generic printout of exercises that don’t fit their life – followed by the all-too-familiar phrase: “Come back in six months.” That moment can feel dismissive and demoralising, like the pain doesn’t matter or that their independence and their future aren’t urgent enough to fix right now.

For chartered physiotherapist and founder of award-winning physiotherapy clinic Urban Body, Phil Evans, it doesn’t have to be this way. Pain and stiffness are not inevitable parts of aging; they are signs to take action. This is the galvanising call-to-action of his book, Built to Last After 50: The truth about arthritis, strength, and staying independent (Rethink Press), empowering individuals in their fifties, sixties, and beyond to invest in their movement and strength so they can enjoy the freedom of living life on their own terms. 

Built to Last After 50 is the ideal read for anyone over fifty who wants to move from coping and struggling to regaining control, mobility, and confidence. Whether a grandparent who wants to stay playful, the retired professional who wants to keep travelling and enjoying life, or a health-conscious individual who refuses to settle for just putting up with it, the goal isn’t perfection; it’s resilience.

Best read for: Reinventing success as you age

From Strength to Strength: Finding success, happiness, and deep purpose in the second half of life

Arthur C. Brooks

Portfolio, £10.99

It is often assumed that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that can accompany aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements, and our attachment to them, the more we notice our decline, and the more painful it can be when it occurs. So what can we do, starting now, to make our older years a time of happiness, purpose, and yes, success?

At the height of his career at the age of 50, Arthur Brooks embarked on a seven-year journey to discover how to transform his future from one of disappointment over waning abilities into an opportunity for progress. From Strength to Strength (Portfolio) is the result: a practical roadmap for the rest of your life.

Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology and Eastern wisdom, as well as dozens of interviews with everyday men and women, Brooks shows that true life success is well within our reach. By refocusing on priorities and habits that anyone can learn, including deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection and service to others, and spiritual progress, we can set ourselves up for greater happiness and purpose in the second half of life.

Best read for: Nourishing your brain and protecting cognitive health

Brain Food: How to eat smart and sharpen your mind

Dr Lisa Mosconi

Penguin Life, £11.99

Much of the discussion around diet focuses on how it affects our fitness. Yet we rarely consider what our food is doing to the hungriest organ in the body: the brain. And it has surprising dietary needs that differ from the rest of the body.

In Brain Food: How to eat smart and sharpen your mind (Penguin Life), Dr Lisa Mosconi, an expert in both neuroscience and nutrition, uses cutting-edge and emerging research to reveal the powerful connection between nutrition and brain health. Drawing partly on her own discoveries, including research into the connection between the brain and the gut, she busts through pseudoscience to reveal the foods and drinks that can help prevent dementia, stress, cognitive decline and memory loss – no matter how old we are.

Brain Food offers an accessible, evidence-based approach to cognitive health, with comprehensive lists of what to eat and what to avoid, a detailed quiz to assess where you are on the brain health spectrum, and 24 brain-boosting recipes inspired by Dr Mosconi’s childhood in Italy.

Whether you want to improve memory, prevent cognitive decline, eliminate brain fog, lift depression, or simply sharpen your edge, Brain Food provides the ultimate plan for maximising your brain power.

Best read for: Building muscle and aging well

Forever Strong: A new, science-based strategy for aging well

Dr Gabrielle Lyon

Piatkus, £16.99

We tend to think about muscle in terms of strength or aesthetics. But what if muscle is actually the key to how we age? After years of watching patients cycle through her practice, Dr Gabrielle Lyon noticed a pattern: while her patients struggled with a wide range of conditions, they all suffered from the same core problem – they had too little muscle rather than too much fat.

As the body’s largest endocrine organ, muscle accounts for so much more than strength. In fact, Dr Lyon believes it plays a critical role in determining the trajectory of health and aging. Many of the conditions her patients were experiencing were actually symptoms of underdeveloped or unhealthy muscle.

This is the science-based thinking behind Forever Strong: A new, science-based strategy for aging well (Piatkus), an accessible new book from Dr Lyon, founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine®, that offers a powerful new approach to becoming and staying well.

With an easy-to-follow food, fitness, and self-care programme anchored in evidence and pioneering research, Forever Strong teaches readers how to optimise muscle, no matter their age or health background, helping them reboot their metabolism, build strength, extend their life, and overcome everything from obesity to autoimmune disorders while reducing the risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s, hypertension, and diabetes.

Best read for: Embracing a new chapter after 50

Your Joyful Years: Empowering good health and happiness beyond 50

Joyce Harper

Serapis Bey Publishing, £16.00

Aged 50+ is a pivotal stage in many women’s lives. Entering post-menopause, free from reproductive hormones, periods and contraception, children may be leaving home, careers may be shifting or winding down, and there can be a dawning realisation that there may be 20 or 30 healthy years ahead. Rather than an ending, this can be a powerful new beginning.

Your Joyful Years: Empowering good health and happiness beyond 50 (Serapis Bey Publishing) offers an opportunity to reconnect with what truly matters, and prioritise self-love and self-care without guilt. Bringing together the wisdom of 50 inspiring women, Joyce Harper shares lived experiences with honesty and generosity, offering guidance, reassurance and permission to live authentically, on your own terms.

Professor Joyce Harper is an expert in reproductive and women’s health, with almost 40 years’ experience listening to women and translating science into practical, evidence-based guidance. Combining research, real-world experience and a deep belief in living life to the full, she shows how this stage of life can be rich with meaning, purpose, freedom and joy.

These are not the years to simply look back. These are Your Joyful Years.