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It May Be Time to Question the Pills You Take February 21, 2019 by Flora Davis - I realized the other day that I’m taking fewer and fewer pills. For years, I’ve swallowed a handful of capsules and tablets every night. Most of them are over-the-counter drugs or supplements, intended to keep me from developing heart trouble, cancer or some other disease.
Shared Stigma, Separate Silos, Part 1 February 18, 2019 by Ashton Applewhite - People with disabilities come in all ages, and almost all of us encounter some change in physical or mental capacity as we grow old. Yet, as I wrote in an earlier blog, “We act as though old people never become disabled and…
Dementia: The Greatest Caregiving Challenge of All February 13, 2019 by Maggie Sullivan - A man in one of the Alzheimer’s caregiver support groups I lead wrote the following in a note to me: We caregivers come into this job ignorant and unprepared but we accept the load thrust upon us. There is no training course but we try to do our best. 
Organizing Your Documents, Part 1: In Case of Emergency January 18, 2019 by Pepper Evans - When I’m not working for the Silver Century Foundation, I help families with care management solutions. Most often, this involves meeting with an older person and a family member to coordinate resources that help my client continue to live independently.…
Is Ageism Ever Funny? January 15, 2019 by Flora Davis - How should I react when comedians on TV, or organizations I respect, make appallingly ageist jokes? I’m 83, so the joke’s on me. Should I object? I’ve been a fan of Saturday Night Live practically since the program first aired,…
How Much Do People with Dementia Understand? December 27, 2018 by Maggie Sullivan - In the small crowd at the Alzheimer’s fundraiser, I spotted Frederick, who attended one of the support groups I lead. I went over to say hello. He was with his wife, whom I had not met before.
He Wants the Law to Change His Age December 5, 2018 by Flora Davis - A 69-year-old man has petitioned the courts in the Netherlands for the right to say he’s 20 years younger than his actual age: he wants his birth certificate altered to show that he was born in 1949 rather than 1969.…
Books to Give or to Keep, 2018 December 3, 2018 by Pepper Evans - I am an unapologetic bookworm, and it’s that time of year when I’m asked to recommend books for gift lists. My first love is fiction, but I enjoy deviating for an interesting memoir or something new in nonfiction. Each of…
Becoming an Informed Patient November 24, 2018 by Pepper Evans - My health care provider admonishes me for my excess weight and lack of exercise, but my lab results have been no cause for alarm. So I was taken aback when she called after my last exam...
The Future of Words November 20, 2018 by Flora Davis - As an editor, I have to pay close attention to the way words keep evolving. I hate some recent changes but I love others. First of all, there’s the way so many words these days begin their lives as friends,…
Less Ageism = Less Dementia. It’s That Clear November 13, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - What affliction do Americans fear most? Alzheimer’s disease. I’m one of them, but facts comfort me. Abundant new data shows that our fears are way out of proportion to the threat—and that those fears themselves put us at risk.
Out with the Old October 27, 2018 by Pepper Evans - I was recently given a generous monetary gift to splurge on something that made me happy. After much deliberation, I decided to refresh the long-ignored state of my domicile, to make it a sanctuary for me and the new chapter…
I’m Not Dead Yet October 16, 2018 by Flora Davis - When you reach my age (83) and don’t hear from friends for a long time, you don’t assume they’re just too busy to get in touch. You wonder if they’ve died.
At the Heart of Dementia: A Challenge to Truth October 11, 2018 by Maggie Sullivan - Alec, whose wife had Alzheimer’s disease, had heard that people in the later stages of dementia often ask for their mothers. Nevertheless, the day Hilary asked him, “Where’s my Mom?” Alec was taken aback. Because they had always been completely…
Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 3 September 21, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - More about what’s wrong with the concept of “successful aging”—a topic explored in Parts 1 and 2 and in Successful Aging as a Contemporary Obsession: Global Perspectives (2017), a collection of essays edited by Sarah Lamb. What else is problematic…- Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 2 September 20, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - Part 1 of this series of blogs argues that, as a model for growing older, “successful aging” leaves ageism unchallenged or contributes to it. What else is problematic about “successful aging”? There are some insightful answers in a collection of…
- Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 1 September 18, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - Eleven years ago I started a writing project about people over 80 who work. Upbeat! Inspirational! Safe! I didn’t realize it at the time, but it epitomized an approach that has dominated gerontology since the 1980s: “successful aging”—also known as…
Old-Lady Day September 5, 2018 by Pepper Evans - Ageism, according to the World Health Organization, is “the stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age; ageism can take many forms, including prejudicial attitudes, discriminatory practices or institutional policies and practices that perpetuate stereotypical…
Lost and Found August 24, 2018 by Flora Davis - I was thinking recently about some of the things I’ve lost as I’ve grown older. But since I’m basically an optimist, after a while I also began to consider the good things I’ve found. I decided to make a list…
The New Yorker’s Ageist Take on Ageism August 22, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - I’m a lifelong New Yorker addict, so when I heard they were running a piece on ageism, I got excited. That was a mistake. Tad Friend’s article in the November 20th issue, “Why Ageism Never Gets Old,” is glib and…
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…