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What Was the Silent Generation Silent About? January 15, 2021 by Flora Davis - I’ve never much liked the fact that I’m part of the Silent Generation. Sandwiched as we are between the heroes of the Greatest Generation and the rebellious, idealistic Baby Boomers, we silents sound so boring. And when I stopped to…
Discrimination Is Intersectional. Activism Can Be Too January 9, 2021 by Ashton Applewhite - … What 2020 brought home for me was that being anti-ageist means supporting every movement for equal rights. It’s a big ask, but we cannot dismantle ageism without dismantling ableism, and racism, and sexism and all the rest, because these systems reinforce…
How Old Would You Want to Be in Heaven? January 8, 2021 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - Many religious faiths propose different versions of heaven as a location: there are walled gardens with streams, flowers, pleasing scents, pretty angels, rapturous music or delicious, accessible food.
Age Justice Requires Disability Justice—and Vice Versa December 22, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - A terrific special section of the New York Times [in July] was devoted to the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. There is no mention of age or ageism. It would be convenient to attribute…
Books to Give or Keep, 2020 December 2, 2020 by Pepper Evans - A year like no other, 2020 had many of us finding our way to the reading chair to escape the stress of the lockdowns and the fear brought on by the news. While fate played a cruel trick on me…
Forest Bathing November 20, 2020 by Flora Davis - The house where I grew up had miles of woods behind it, and my brother and I spent a lot of time walking the paths there or hiding in the brush, pretending to be early settlers or Indians. Those woods…
How Testing Sells People with Dementia Short November 17, 2020 by Maggie Sullivan - Jane and Henry went to the memory center for a diagnostic workup because Jane had been having increasing problems with her memory. She underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests, and a week later they returned to meet with the diagnostic…
Breonna Taylor Did Not Get to Grow Old November 4, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - Breonna Taylor, a Black EMT, was murdered in her bed at 26 years old. Michael Brown was 18. Tamir Rice was 12. Why am I writing about these young victims of police brutality in a [blog] about ageism? Because systemic…
Real Doctors, Virtual Visits October 29, 2020 by Pepper Evans - I recently deliberated about making an appointment for a routine colonoscopy. Not only are we in the middle of a pandemic, I had to change gastroenterologists, and I just wasn’t sure what to do. My primary care provider insisted there…
The Benefit I Earned October 22, 2020 by Flora Davis - I was thinking the other day about how thrilled I was, shortly after I turned 65, when I signed up for Social Security. It was a watershed moment, and my husband took me out for lunch to celebrate. I was…
Being Old Is Not a Death Sentence, Even Now October 20, 2020 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - Contrary to popular opinion, no one living in a nursing home needs to die of COVID-19.
Hire a Shopper September 25, 2020 by Pepper Evans - My college-age daughter is home. With orders to shelter in place, she lost her campus job and her restaurant job, and few opportunities were available when she arrived back in town. So she gamely decided to be an Instacart shopper.…
We’re All Old People in Training, Whether We Know It Yet or Not, Part 2 September 16, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - In a world increasingly segregated by race and class as well as by age, reaching over those divisions to acknowledge the one path we’ll all travel is a radical act.- We’re All Old People in Training, Whether We Know It Yet or Not, Part 1 September 11, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - What’s the best answer to “How old are you?” Tell your questioner the truth—and then ask why it matters.
Pursuing the Diagnosis No One Wants to Hear September 3, 2020 by Maggie Sullivan - Frank told his caregivers’ support group, “I finally got my wife, Millie, to agree to see the doctor about her forgetfulness. He gave her a quiz to test her memory. Millie didn’t do so well, but the doctor said, ‘It’s…
Could a Drug Trial Be the First Step Toward Healthier Aging? August 25, 2020 by Flora Davis - Nine out of 10 Americans who are 75 and older have at least one chronic disease. More than two out of 10 of us have at least five. I’m talking about life-draining conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia—all,…
Bye-Bye, Bookworm August 11, 2020 by Pepper Evans - I’m an unapologetic bookworm. I read four to six books a month. I consider reading to be my self-care and my hobby: it’s the thing that quiets the chatter in my brain. It’s my vacation when I can’t go anywhere. …
My Father’s Frugal Habits Make Sense Now July 24, 2020 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - My father had plenty of habits that irritated my mother. But nothing irritated her more than “Marty being cheap.”
Who’s Aging Better? July 21, 2020 by Pepper Evans - How do you define successful aging? There are textbook definitions, but it’s a fair guess that we all know it when we see it. The ability to age in place is one of the most common themes of successful aging.…
The Pandemic Isn’t Making Ageism Worse. It’s Exposing It—and That’s a Good Thing July 14, 2020 by Ashton Applewhite - Media coverage of anything aging-related has long been characterized by alarmist hand-wringing. Coverage of the pandemic is no exception, given that some three-quarters of COVID-19-related deaths worldwide are of people over age 65, many occurring in nursing homes, where the…
A Hidden Epidemic Threatens Older Adults: Malnutrition - For most of her life, Jenny Anne Horst-Martz’s mother worked hard to stay slender. But now, at age 90, her mother struggles to keep enough weight on. The problem started a few years ago when her mother was injured in…
The Parade of Aides - Working as a caregiver for a friend or family member is a rewarding but stressful job. When my mom qualified for an aide (thanks to the pooled income trust and Medicaid), it gave me a break during the day to…