Norman Swan will be in conversation with Andrew Leigh on his The Brain Cliff , a book which will change how you think about brain ageing and give you new ways to keep away from the edge.

What many of us fear, especially as we hit our forties and fifties, is not being as quick of mind. Not remembering as well as we used to. By our 60s and 70s we worry there's nothing we can do and that we are falling helplessly into an abyss which leads to dementia.

Dr Norman Swan, one of Australia's most trusted doctors, shows us that we've been thinking about brain ageing the wrong way. It doesn't need to be about decline and deficit. It's about how to help our brains adapt, become resilient and maintain cognitive function - and it's much more than what we eat, how we exercise or our genes.

Dr Swan has interviewed people from around the world in their 90s and 100s who still have remarkable cognitive function. These cognitive super-agers have very different life stories, but it turns out that underneath they're pretty much the same, with lessons that will help us all in our 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond

Dr Norman Swan is a multi-award-winning producer, broadcaster, investigative journalist and bestselling author. His career has been highlighted by his desire to keep the Australian public informed of health developments as they happen, combining medical expertise with journalism. Since joining the ABC in 1982, he has won numerous awards for his work as presenter of The Health Report on ABC Radio National. He currently hosts Radio National's The Health Report , co-hosts What's That Rash?, reports on 7.30 and is a guest reporter on Four Corners.

Andrew Leigh FASSA is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT He holds a PhD from Harvard University, and before elected in 2010, he was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. His numerous books include The Shortest History of Innovation, The Luck of Politics, Battlers and Billionaires and Randomistas.

The vote of thanks will be given by Professor Nicolas Cherbuin. ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, where he leads the Neuroimaging and Brain Lab.

Books will be available for signing from 5.30pm and again after the event.

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