This qualitative study is based on life histories, combining a broad literature with excerpts from interviews with respondents. Active aging is conceptualized as an authentic process, which makes up the chief contribution of the book. Its findings tell us about the roles and expectations confronted by the elderly, about their needs, as well as a certain degree of self-labeling. Besides, topics such as elderly volunteering, paid and unpaid work, leisure activities, relation to others, and the problem of institutional support to the elderly are discussed.