Perspectives
What Is Old Age For?
By William Thomas, MD
Old age is humanity's greatest invention, and on an even deeper level, it invented us. Old age transformed the way our most distant ancestors gave birth, reared their young, lived together, and fed themselves. Later it propelled the development of culture, language, and society.
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Three-Generation Households: Are They History?
By
Flora Davis
Nestled within the American psyche is a nostalgic image of a three-generation household: an older couple sitting by the fire with grandchildren playing about their feet while the children’s parents look on fondly. Yet in the 21st century, so few families include live-in grandparents that some social critics have accused Americans of abandoning the older generation. Surely, they scold, grown children usually took in their aging parents in the past.
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Features
Boomerang Seniors—They’re Moving to Be Near Mom or Dad
By
Sharon Jayson
Like many peers in their 70s, Lois and Richard Jones of Media, PA, sold their home and downsized, opting for an apartment in a nearby senior living community they had come to know well. For 13 years, they have visited Lois’ mother, Madge Wertzberger, there.
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No One Likes to Think about Disaster, but Doing So Might Save Your Life
By
Mary Jacobs
When Hurricane Harvey struck his neighborhood on August 28, 2017, the Rev. John Stephens of Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston helped launch a “boat ministry.” He and several men in the church navigated privately owned boats into the rising flood waters to rescue neighbors stranded in their homes.
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Blogs
Books to Give or Keep in 2017
December 06, 2017 By
Pepper Evans
Friends all know I’m an avid reader, and it’s that time of year when they ask me to recommend books for holiday gift lists. I primarily seek out new fiction, but I enjoy deviating for an interesting memoir. Each of my picks connects to aging, from midlife on up.
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Emotional Contagion Is a Mixed Bag
December 01, 2017 By
Flora Davis
In 2008, my husband fell backward down a flight of stairs and suffered a brain injury. When I brought him home from rehab three months later, he was childlike and often confused. He sank into a deep depression—and I caught it from him.
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Issues
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Quizzes
Test Your Aging Skills
What do you know about how you will age?
Your life expectancy is 78 at birth.
Will you make it?
Will you live longer?
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Photo Gallery
The Hands-Some Journey Project
Photographer Elaine Zelker captures life stories through hand held objects.
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Resources
Discover indispensable
to help you make empowered choices
about your future
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"It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not poorer, but is even richer."
Cicero (106-43 BC)