• 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • One of Top 50 Fantastic Blogs for Nurses 2018: Nursingstories.org

    I came across the Nurse.org Blog by chance. What a surprise to see that my nursingstories.org was named one of the “top 50 fantastic blogs of 2018.” I’m only a year late to appreciate the honor. And it is an honor to be in the company of the other 49 nursing blogs. I think you…

  • Growing Older – On Turning 77

    Originally posted on Write Along with Me: “Can I help you?“ a butcher yelled from a packaged meat display. A few feet away, I was standing, clueless, in front of an impressive array of glass-encased chunks of red meat. “Yes, I guess,” I bellowed back. When he was situated across from me, I asked, “How…