On the front of The Arts section of the New York Times this past week was a picture of Candice Bergen. Older (aren’t we all?) but still lovely even carrying thirty extra pounds. Making no excuses for the weight gain, she says, “I live to eat.” (I can relate to that.) She had written a…… Continue reading CANDICE BERGEN, MURPHY BROWN AND ME
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.
NURSE PRACTITIONER VERSUS PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT
Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted:
Last week in a restaurant in Lyon, France, my tablemate turned toward me and asked, “What’s the difference between a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant.” My husband and I were on a tour. Our traveling buddies consisted of older folks like ourselves. The woman knew I…
IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH
Last Saturday, toward the end of a daylong workshop, Carol Henderson, our leader, gave the last prompt. Where is home? However, knowing we only had a few minutes left, I believe we seven women wanted to share our appreciation with Carol, and with Mamie Potter who hosted the event, before we left. That prompt fell…… Continue reading IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH
LIFE IS A CRAPSHOOT
As we sat finishing our lunch at a roadside restaurant on our way to the Rainforest in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, my tablemate said, “It’s all a crapshoot.” We had been talking about the aging process. She uttered the same term I had been using ever since my husband and I bought a two-story town house…… Continue reading LIFE IS A CRAPSHOOT
Celebrating Forty Years of Friendship
Originally posted on Write Along with Me:
Proverbs 18:26 Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. Readers of Caring Lessons know I was desperate to find a friend when I was in my early thirties, someone like me, a nurse and mom who wanted to go back to…
SO WHAT’S NOSTALGIZING?
Nostalgizing is a new word for me. I discovered it in a New York Times article: Tierney, John. What Is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows. The New York Times, 8 July, 2013. I needed to re-read the essay for reassurance that feelings of nostalgia I’ve been experiencing with some frequency could very…… Continue reading SO WHAT’S NOSTALGIZING?
THE FALL
I entered a large department store on a rainy Sunday two weeks ago. My foot hit a slick spot and I became airborne. You know that awful feeling when you’re going down and there is nothing you can do about it. I drifted in slow motion closer and closer to a display table, finally making…… Continue reading THE FALL
PERSISTENCE
In 2014, I finished my memoir. In spite of myself, I persisted and finished. Ten years ago, I left a full time nurse practitioner job and began to write in earnest. The book I just birthed is not the one I started then. It has been configured many times: moving chapters, changing tenses from past…… Continue reading PERSISTENCE
TAKING THE BUS
My husband and I will move into in our new Raleigh town house at the end of the week. Part of the reason for our move, besides being nearer to the grandchildren, is that we want more of a city life. Our last house, in a lovely forested neighborhood, was tranquil and isolated. We needed…… Continue reading TAKING THE BUS
A NEW BEGINNING
I sit in a one-bedroom furnished unit on the 2nd floor of an immense apartment complex nestled in a shopping mall in northern Raleigh while writing this post. Two weeks ago we moved out of our house in Chapel Hill after 14 years. A cold heavy rain began to fall as we pulled the door…… Continue reading A NEW BEGINNING
