Author: Marianna Crane

After a long career in nursing--I was one of the first certified gerontological nurse practitioners--I am now a writer. My writings center around patients I have had over the years that continue to haunt my memory unless I record their stories. In addition, I write about growing older, confronting ageism, creativity and food.
My memoir, "Stories from the Tenth Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers" is available where ever books are sold.

The Dreaded Question

Originally posted on Bloom:
by Marlene Adelstein  Now that my debut novel, Sophie Last Seen, has just been published and I’ve started doing readings and interviews to promote it, I’m hoping my least favorite question won’t pop up. But inevitably, it does. How long did it take you to write? It’s often the first question…

 Bedbugs and Friendships

My husband and I went to Charleston last week and came home with bed bugs—maybe. A lovely city, we have been there many times joining friends at the same hotel. This time, after a hiatus of a couple of years, the hotel was looking a bit rough around the edges. Our first room was quite…… Continue reading  Bedbugs and Friendships

COLD CLINICAL FACTS

Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted:
Four women in my Wednesday evening non-fiction workshop graciously agreed to be my beta-readers and look over my manuscript during a two week break, following suggestions outlined by our leader, Carol Henderson. What Carol stressed, among other things, was not to get bogged down with spelling and…

Meeting Nancy Panko

I was one of about thirty authors who attended the program, Authors in Your Backyard: A Celebration of Local Writers, held at my neighborhood library on a Sunday afternoon not too long ago. I arrived with copies of my book: Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic, and the syringes to lure readers to my table. I didn’t…… Continue reading Meeting Nancy Panko

Learning to Heal

I’ve long been a proponent of nurses writing their stories to educate the general public about what we really do. Here’s a book: Learning to Heal: Reflections on Nursing School in Poetry and Prosethat does that and more. The essays, from seasoned nurses as well as recent grads and “respected elders,” are set in the…… Continue reading Learning to Heal

Back to where it started: Chicago

I flew into cold, snowy Chicago last week to discuss my book at the main facility of Erie Family Health Centers. This felt like a dream as I stood behind the lectern gazing at the audience that, believe it or not, included a few familiar faces from some thirty years ago. I had been invited…… Continue reading Back to where it started: Chicago

Spotlight: Marianna Crane

Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted:
This appeared in the September 2017 Erie Family Health Center Donor Newsletter ? Anniversary Spotlight: Marianna Crane ? Over thirty years ago Dr. Sally Lundeen, a nurse and Erie Family Health Center’s first Executive Director, spearheaded a project that would provide care for the underserved elderly right…

The Musical “Hair” Revisited

Back in 1968, I stood outside a Broadway theater where “Hair” was playing and began to cry. My husband and I had just seen the play and were heading to Mamma Leone’s for dinner when I had an immediate need to feel despondent about my large body after seeing the svelte women dancing, at times…… Continue reading The Musical “Hair” Revisited

From Disengagement to Balance: The Journey to Positive Aging

  Many of you reading this are not old enough to remember the disengagement theory. When I started out in gerontology in the 80s this was one of three theories of aging I learned about, and the most depressing. The disengagement theory of aging states that “aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased…… Continue reading From Disengagement to Balance: The Journey to Positive Aging