Losing more than 100,000 Americans in three months to a virus that wasn’t even known when 2020 began seems unfathomable. The New York Times illustrated the gravity of the pandemic with its arresting front page of the names of roughly 1% of those who di… Continue reading
Do you remember how old you were when you first experienced symptoms of a midlife crisis? Normally it creeps up sometime between the early forties and mid-fifties, triggered by the awareness of one’s mortality. Forget that timetable. Under the cloud of… Continue reading
Entering her apartment, I heard the scariest sound of all: silence. A burly EMT broke it with “I’m sorry.” His slight partner gave the details. Mom was where they found her. There was no blood to suggest a hard fall. The other EMT surmised she had a he… Continue reading
(Across caregiving and community, business and intergenerational attitudes, the pandemic and how we respond to it could change us forever. Next Avenue turned to some of our Influencers in Aging, a diverse group of thought leaders, for their insights, c… Continue reading
Comfort, touch, togetherness: these are among the key elements of hospice care — the kind of care offered at the end of one’s life. These same principles are also in direct opposition to the distance and separation asked of us during a pandemic. Yet ho… Continue reading
The death of Dave Kerpen’s mother could not have come at a worse time. It was March 17, 2020, the day after the White House advised people to avoid groups of more than 10. The family was scattered: Kerpen’s mother, Rayni Joan, 79, died in Santa Monica,… Continue reading
(Across caregiving and community, business and intergenerational attitudes, the pandemic and how we respond to it could change us forever. Next Avenue turned to some of our Influencers in Aging, a diverse group of thought leaders, for their insights, c… Continue reading
Karen Gallant, 72, of Soquel, Calif., has seen Alzheimer’s disease up close. Her sister, Coille Hooven, 80, is in an advanced stage of dementia. This has led Gallant to consider the complexities of what she’d want for herself or her husband, if one of … Continue reading
Amid the chaos and constant news coverage surrounding the coronavirus lies an underlying fear of death and the realization that life is fleeting. Only 10% to 20% of people die suddenly and unexpectedly, though. More often, death is a process of gradual… Continue reading
When my good friend, Nikki, told me a few days ago that her father had just passed away from natural causes, my first reaction was to offer sympathy. Then I asked, “What are the funeral arrangements?” Her answer: “I’m not sure. We will have a memorial … Continue reading