Flora Davis has written scores of magazine articles and is the author of five nonfiction books, including the award-winning Moving the Mountain: The Women’s Movement in America Since 1960 (1991, 1999). She currently lives in a retirement community and continues to work as a writer.
A Good Death March 9, 2017 - While I was trawling the Internet one day, I came across this comment on the blog of a jazz musician: “I’ve often joked that every musician’s secret fantasy is to die on the bandstand, at a ripe old age and…
Where Medicare Fails February 20, 2017 - A friend of mine was hospitalized recently. What really worried her, she told me the day before she went in, was not the procedure she was about to have but her medical bills if the hospital decided not to admit…
The Trials of a Top Dog January 12, 2017 - We live in a hierarchical society. Which is too bad because I’ve never wanted to be anybody’s boss or to order anyone around. That mindset may be fairly common among women of my generation—I’m in my 80s. The one time…
Deep Reading December 2, 2016 - I’ve spent my life immersed in a warm bath of fiction. I always have one novel going and another waiting. On the rare occasions when I have no new book on hand, I feel slightly panicky. Scientists have discovered that…
An Ounce of Prevention? Maybe November 7, 2016 - I’ve always figured that the fewer medications I take, the better. If there’s something wrong with me and a drug can help, I might not have much of a choice. But dose myself daily to prevent something that might never…
Reverse Mortgages: An Age-Old Bid for Security October 7, 2016 - What scares most Americans more than dying? The possibility that we’ll outlive our savings. There have been times in my life when that’s worried me. In my worst moments, I even imagined ending up as a bag lady. What does…
Overdosed? September 26, 2016 - When doctors prescribe new medications for me, I always wonder whether they’re getting the dosage right. There’s a reason I’m wary, and it has nothing to do with distrusting my doctors personally. I’m reminded of it whenever someone complains that…
How to Have a Good Life: Lean In—to Your Relationships September 9, 2016 - I was stuck for a time when I was in my 20s. My career and dating possibilities were going nowhere, and I struggled with depression. I was far from home, but one day I talked to my father about all…
Fooling the Phone Company August 31, 2016 - Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, to quote the 19th century French novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
He Was His Own Miracle August 10, 2016 - There’s an article elsewhere on this website that expresses doubts about something I believe in. There’s no scientific evidence, it says, that thinking positively can keep you healthy or that being determined to fight back against an illness can help you…
Scammed! A Warning July 18, 2016 - That day in December, my bursitis had flared up and I’d lost a filling, but what really bothered me was that my computer wasn’t working and I felt stupid. I’d fallen for a scam. What’s more, I’d just read an…
Retire? Never! July 15, 2016 - When I was in my 30s, a friend asked whether I was saving money for retirement. I laughed. As a single mother with two small children, I could barely keep my head above water financially. No, I told her, I…
An Ageless Tradition July 8, 2016 - Balloons were drifting around, bumping against the ceiling in my living room, buoyed by helium and the generosity of friends. The previous weekend, they had thrown a baby shower for me. It may have been the first time in history…
Oh, to Be 70 Again June 27, 2016 - Oh, to be 70 again with the rest of my life opening up in front of me. When I was 70, I was working for a foundation and thought it the best job I’d ever had or was likely to…
Aging in Place: Is It a Pipe Dream? May 11, 2016 - On surveys, most older Americans say they want to age in place: to stay right where they are in the home they’ve lived in for years. Whenever I hear that, I wonder whether they realize just how difficult that can…
80 and Counting May 9, 2016 - I’ve turned 80 and it’s a little scary. I’m healthy and still working, but I’m well aware that medical problems began for many of my friends once they were in their 80s. In many ways I’ve changed since I was…
Age Is Just a Number April 20, 2016 - I live in a retirement community that’s age-restricted: you have to be at least 62 to move in. A 50-something friend asked me the other day why on earth I would want to live in a place that has only…
If I Lose My Hearing, Will I Also Lose My Memory? March 20, 2016 - I don’t hear as well as I used to. For the past few years, I’ve had to strain to follow the conversation in a crowded room, and I’ve watched television with the help of closed captions for the hearing-impaired. But…
Time on the Run February 5, 2016 - The woman sharing the elevator with me looked to be in her 70s. “How can it be the end of the week already,” she asked, “when I feel as if Monday was just yesterday?” I felt the same way—and probably…
How (and When) to Say ‘No’ to Your Doctor December 1, 2015 - In the 1950s, a doctor convinced my mother he could remove my sinus polyps with a brand-new, painless therapy: radiation. In those days, kids with adolescent acne were also getting radiation treatments. The polyps went away but the therapy was…
