- In a Pandemic, Ageism Can Be Lethal April 2, 2020 - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), older people and people with underlying health conditions are about twice as likely to “develop serious outcomes” from the COVID-19 coronavirus—get really sick and possibly die—as younger and otherwise healthier people. …
- Our Incredible, Shrinking World March 25, 2020 - I live in a CCRC, a continuing care retirement community. That means I’ve been promised a roof over my head and health care of one kind or another for the rest of my life. More than 1,000 residents live here,…
- The ‘Generational Wars’ Contrived to Disguise the Failure of the American Dream March 13, 2020 - In a nation grappling with growing inequality, stagnating social mobility, crushing personal debt and crumbling job security, efforts to set America’s generations against one another persist.
- On Turning 85 March 5, 2020 - When I turned 85 recently, I was relieved. I’d had a silly, personal superstition: my Dad died at 84, and I thought I might do that too. Eighty-five arrived not only with a faint frisson of relief but with loving…
- The Fog of Aging February 19, 2020 - When I was young, I had a quick mind, an excellent memory, and I found it easy to multitask. Not anymore. These days, when I set out to put words down on a page, it takes more time than it…
- Doing 60 Around Town February 7, 2020 - I’m a healthy, engaged, purpose-driven woman in my 60s. I consider myself an empty nester; one daughter has moved out of state and the other is in college, so it’s me and the pets. And I’m fine with that. Really.…
- Driver Assistance: How to Put Safety First If You’re DWO—Driving While Old January 28, 2020 - When I bought a new car a couple of years ago, the one thing I felt I had to have was a blind spot monitor. I do a certain amount of highway driving, and I’ve had a few close calls…
- When Giving In Is the Best Gift January 22, 2020 - Bill told his Alzheimer’s caregivers support group, “My wife asked, ‘When are we going to see the grandchildren? We haven’t seen them in months!’ When I told her they were just here yesterday, she got mad at me. ‘They were…
- Grandparenting in Venice January 17, 2020 - Venice at the opening of the Biennial international art fair is crowded, gaudy, expensive, magical and, it turned out, very grandchild-friendly. We were there partly to babysit, to help out our daughter-in-law, Yto Barrada (who was invited to exhibit at…
- We Can Do Something about Ageism—Here’s the Evidence January 10, 2020 - We’ve known for a while that ageism—negative beliefs and stereotypes about aging—makes us vulnerable to disease and decline, and also that the opposite is true. People with fact- rather than fear-based attitudes towards aging walk faster, heal quicker, live longer…
- Putting Menopause on Pause December 17, 2019 - If there’s a way to delay menopause, will women jump at the chance? Going by past experience, I might have done just that when I was younger. I’ve been thinking about this because, according to some, it’s already possible to…
- Health Care Is Failing Older People December 13, 2019 - Treating patients slowed by Parkinson’s, geriatrician Louise Aronson, MD, sings a chorus of “Happy Birthday” in her head to make sure they have enough time to respond. I’d love a doctor this humane as I head into old age, not…
- Books to Give or Keep, 2019 December 4, 2019 - There’s no place on Earth I’d rather be than in my reading chair with a good book and a cup of tea. I think in a previous life I was a matchmaker because now I love to match people with…
- Divorced by Night November 13, 2019 - While visiting a friend who was convalescing postsurgery, I noticed that the king-sized bed she shares with her husband is actually a pair of twin beds under a single bedspread. She says they always go to bed at the same…
- Words Matter November 8, 2019 - I’m 84. That’s old and I don’t mind saying so. But for many people, the word old is such a turnoff that, on this website, we generally prefer euphemisms such as older, as in older adults. We don’t use old
- Rowing North Against Ageism, Sexism and Misogyny October 29, 2019 - Mary Pipher is a psychologist who specializes in women—adolescents in her first bestseller, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (1994), and now those entering old age in Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age.
- What’s behind Sundowning? Part 2 October 18, 2019 - Every afternoon at about 3:30, Jack went around closing all the curtains in his house. At first his wife opposed him. “Why are you doing that? It’s still light out!” But even if she stopped him and opened the curtains,…
- Nostalgia: Why It’s Good for You October 3, 2019 - My daughter and grandchildren live in the town where I grew up, just a few blocks from my childhood home. Sometimes when I’m visiting them, I drive by that house very slowly or lurk at the curb, motor running, savoring…
- Five Things I Learned on My Book Tour September 25, 2019 - Five weeks, 11 cities, 14 book talks, 9 media appearances, 21 regular talks. Phew. I got so tired, it felt as though gravity was messing with me, or as if I’d been inexpertly inflated. It was also exhilarating: a nationwide…
- What’s behind Sundowning? Part 1 September 20, 2019 - When my mother was living with me, her Alzheimer’s was fairly advanced and she had begun to be fearful after dark. One evening, she came to me, trembling. “There’s a strange woman outside, trying to get in my window!” she…
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