Skip to content
Skip to main menu
23 States Respond to COVID Deaths in Nursing Homes October 6, 2021 by Susan Jaffe - The appalling number of COVID deaths in nursing homes laid bare long-standing problems in those institutions that needed to be addressed. States with diverse political leadership have passed new laws in response. Reporting for Kaiser Health News, (KHN), journalist Susan…
His Medical Crisis Took Us by Surprise April 21, 2021 by Judith Graham - Earlier this month, my husband picked up the phone and learned his 92-year-old father had been taken to the hospital that morning, feeling sick and short of breath.
In the Red March 4, 2021 by Mary Jacobs - At age 50, Sarah Smith found herself divorced, bankrupt and saddled with debts inherited from her ex-husband. When her two children chose to attend private colleges, she took out student loans. Now, at 66, Smith (not her real name) still…
Will Lifelong Learning Change the Way We Age? October 7, 2020 by Mary Jacobs - Six years ago, Laura Rich signed up for a continuing education class in Chinese art history and archaeology at Stanford University. Her children were grown and she was wrapping up a full-time stint on the local school board. “Most of…
The True Cost of Growing Old in America February 5, 2020 by Jan Mutchler - The US population is aging at such a rate that within a few years, older Americans will outnumber the country’s children for the first time, according to census projections. But rising rents, health care and other living costs mean that for many entering their retirement years, balancing the household budget can be a struggle.
When Should You Take Away an Older Person’s Cell Phone? November 23, 2019 by Judith Graham - At first, Robert Zorowitz, MD, thought his 83-year-old mother was confused. She couldn’t remember passwords to accounts on her computer. She would call and say programs had stopped working.
Looking for Work after 50? Are You Also Out of Luck? June 6, 2018 by Mary Jacobs - At one point in her career, Amy Anderson supervised more than 50 people and managed a multimillion dollar budget for a Fortune 500 company. But after losing what she calls her “last good job” in 2013, she had no luck…
How to Deal with Your Digital Afterlife January 10, 2018 by Mary Jacobs - Sara Ivey, 63, calls it one of the few gifts of cancer: time to plan. When her husband, Jerald Sluder, was diagnosed with advanced melanoma, the Dallas couple had time to organize his affairs before his death in December 2016…
Grandpa Gets Around…Using Uber April 4, 2017 by Mary Jacobs - When Kerri Couillard founded Babierge, she expected the business would mostly attract young families who were traveling. The Albuquerque-based fledgling company connects people who need baby gear for a few days with those who have equipment to rent. Couillard was…
Retirement Can Wait—Boomers Embrace Entrepreneurship April 4, 2017 by Robert Miskimon - As boomers anticipate retirement, the American economy sputters. Employer-employee loyalty has gone the way of the tail-finned car. Many lost jobs are gone forever, taking with them, for many, any assurance of a comfortable retirement. The difference between how much…
Losing Sight - In 2014, Sharon Kassakian, 75, was diagnosed with macular degeneration in one eye. But the condition was manageable, and she felt confident enough to move to Portland in late 2016 to be closer to family. Then, in 2018, her vision…
Ageless, Clueless … I goofed - During my book tour, I often closed readings with a passage about aspiring to agelessness, declaring it a form of age denial. A woman at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR, said, “Saying you’re ageless seems like saying you’re color-blind,” and…