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Hearing Aids Get Smarter April 29, 2020 by Flora Davis - My friend, Jeanne, has new hearing aids, and I’m green with envy. Compared to her aids, mine seem about as cutting edge as a horse and buggy in the dawning era of the car. Here’s what hers will do: When…
Curry Adds More Than Flavor to Your Life April 23, 2020 by Pepper Evans - Isn’t it fabulous to discover that a food we enjoy is actually good for us? I’m thinking of curry in its many iterations. (It’s not always about you, chocolate.) American diets have been globally influenced since I was a kid…
Do People with Dementia Lose the Right to Die? April 15, 2020 by Maggie Sullivan - “If I’m not me, I don’t want to be.” That’s the motto of a healthy man in his 80s who was interviewed some years ago by the New York Times. I’ll refer to him as Robert. Like many people, Robert…
In a Pandemic, Ageism Can Be Lethal April 2, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Pepper Evans - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Maggie Sullivan - 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 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - 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 by Ashton Applewhite - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Ashton Applewhite - 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 by Pepper Evans - 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 by Pepper Evans - 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 by Flora Davis - 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 by Ashton Applewhite - 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 by Maggie Sullivan - 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,…
Know Your Numbers - Every year, millions of older adults roll up their sleeves for an annual physical. Blood is drawn, a cuff tightens around the arm, and a stethoscope taps against the chest. A few days later, a patient portal pings with test…
Dementia: The Numbers Are Climbing but the Risk Is Not - I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: dementia rates are dropping. There are more cases because there are more older people as a percentage of the population, and age is the biggest risk factor. But your risk is lower…