According to the 2025 Compassion Report from Sanford’s School of Medicine, only 1 in 3 Americans feel compassion for all groups of...
Aging Thoughtfully8
Book Review: “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” by Ashton Applewhite
Finally the publishing industry is catching on to the fact that America’s swelling aging population isn’t aging like their parents and grandparents and want literature that reflects this new way of growing old. Older women and men want to be affirmed and not negated in their old age. Ashton Applewhite’s new book, This Chair Rocks: A [...]
Pat Taub
Facing One’s Mortality
Last week I posted a note on the WOW Facebook page, describing how I got in touch with my mortality (not for the first time) after parting with my grandkids following a trip to Japan with them. I wrote that Jane and Max will probably visit Japan again, but such might not be in the cards for me, given my advancing age. In response, concerned [...]
Pat Taub
Two Elder Maine Women Poets: Janet Shea and Joanne Booth
Maine, where I live, is familiar to many as the grayest state in the nation. What is often overlooked in this statistic is the phenomenal number of elder women who continue to create art and live meaningful lives through their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Maine’s old women continue to inspire me as I move through my 70’s. In this spirit [...]
Pat Taub
Meaningful Aging
Guest post by Dr. Tami Yaguri (This is an excerpt from an upcoming talk on aging to be delivered in Dusseldorf on July 8, 2016.) “When do we get there?” Kids ask their parents the minute they get in the car for a long drive. The kids do not know yet how to appreciate the view outside the window, the road, and the sense of togetherness [...]
Pat Taub
Liberate Yourself from Past Hurts: Practice Forgiveness
I’m writing about forgiveness this week after participating in a rich conversation on the WOW Facebook page following a posting advocating forgiveness. This conversation put my brain in overdrive, compelling me to elaborate on forgiveness, as I understand it. Forgiveness can be especially meaningful late in life. This is the time to wipe [...]
Pat Taub
“Mary Page Marlowe”: Making Peace With Our Past Selves
This past weekend I visited family in Chicago, home of the famed Steppenwolf Theater, which has birthed numerous Broadway plays. My daughter-in-law treated me to a Steppenwolf matinee to see the trial opening of Tracey Letts’ new play, Mary Page Marlowe. It depicts the major events in an older women’s life: collegiate dreams to visit [...]
Pat Taub
Talking to Connie and Adelaide–Part 2
The conversation continues and gets a bit more serious as Connie and Adelaide discuss death, making preparations to remain in their own homes, while offering more examples of the gifts of aging. Pat: Continuing on the theme of mystery, death strikes me as full of mystery. How do you conceive of death? Adelaide: My image of death [...]
Pat Taub
Talking to Two Remarkable Wise Women: Connie and Adelaide–Part 1
We talk all the time: to our neighbors as we pass them in the morning, on the phone to family members at long distance, or over a meal with friends. Most of our conversations are pleasant, but rarely do they jar us, make us see the world differently and touch our souls. But every now and then, if we’re lucky, we have the chance to engage [...]
Pat Taub