(This article is excerpted from Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief by Claire Bidwell Smith.) What is anxiety? Where does it come from, and how can you gain control over it? And why is it so frequently spurred by the loss of a loved one? These are ofte… Continue reading
My daughter and I are on the couch waiting for our face masks to revitalize our skin. Our weekly home spa routine was her idea. Even through my mask I can’t avoid seeing her boxes stacked against the wall, awaiting a mover’s truck at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I… Continue reading
She has advanced Alzheimer’s disease and he has early signs of dementia. When a distant cousin stepped in to care for them, the couple had sold most of their furniture to pay for food and collected tin cans to help pay the rent. Realizing that addressi… Continue reading
“There is no wrong in this room.” These are the soothing words of Jeanie Brindley-Barnett, a seasoned director, to the portion of the Giving Voice Chorus rehearsing on a Wednesday afternoon in Minneapolis. Brindley-Barnett is no stranger to working wit… Continue reading
Over 30 years ago, researchers and geriatricians identified an “elder orphan” (sometimes called a “solo ager”) as a person aging alone with little support. But when my Elder Orphan Facebook group targeting this population launched over 2 1/2 years ago,… Continue reading
(Part of the VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT) Behind the Lens: 50+ Filmmakers goes behind the scenes of the 55+Video Memoir Class at Film North in St. Paul, Minn. and tells the story of Joe Moses, a University of Minnesota professor, who produced a short … Continue reading
My husband was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. We managed to focus on the positive side of things (the doctors said that if they got all the cancer out of his stomach in an operation, then his prognosis was quite good.) But we blithely ignored the stat… Continue reading
It turns out I’m living in an age bubble and I’m ready to leave it. That’s what I learned after taking the fun and eye-opening “Are You Living in An Age Bubble?” quiz created by the Generation to Generation initiative of the nonprofit Encore.org group…. Continue reading
The pain and frustration are palpable. “I hired a maid… [My mother] didn’t talk to me for months. I filled two construction dumpsters full and there was still 2,400 square feet left to clean up. Eventually the maid quit when my dad berated her for thro… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Every veteran is unique, with a lifetime of memories, stories and achievements. At the same time, veterans share a common experience regardless of when and whe… Continue reading