ArcaMax

It's no secret that I am a lifelong unabashed book addict. And when I come across a wonderfully written volume, there's no way I can keep quiet about my discovery. As a baby boomer, I've got a long way to go before I become a member of the fastest-growing age group in America -- the "oldest old." I do, however, have friends and neighbors who fit...Read more

It's no secret that many "mature Americans" are scrambling to keep pace with the rapid advances in the technological revolution. I often hear older friends bemoan the fact that they don't have a handy teenager available to reset their smart TV, program their iPhone or teach them how to take advantage of social media. In fact, most of the senior ...Read more

I was intrigued when I learned that British researchers had followed 138 people ranging from 65 to 85 years old who received flu vaccines back in 2014-15 to measure the shots' effectiveness. The study, which appeared in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, recorded factors like diet, mood, negative thoughts, sleep patterns, stress and other measures ...Read more

When she was only 17 years old, Malala Yousafzai became the first teenager to ever win a Nobel Prize. Decades earlier, Albert Einstein (erroneously) commented, "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of thirty will never do so." Do you ever worry that because you are older, your smartest days are behind you?

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Because I'm an author, columnist and journalist, working with words comes naturally. But I'm well aware of the fact that for many people, the idea of writing their life story can sound more like the world's worst homework assignment than an easy way to let friends and family members know and understand the events of their life. This is where ...Read more

In my last column, I addressed the benefits of writing a memoir, both for yourself and your family members. After working with close to two dozen individuals who wanted to commit their life experiences to paper, I have learned that everyone's story has value. You don't have to be a hero, a survivor or an inspiring paragon of virtue to be worthy ...Read more

When I'm not working on my own writing projects -- or lost within the pages of a spellbinding bestseller -- I spend a lot of time helping other people write their memoirs. Since I live in South Florida, there are plenty of baby boomers (and even quite a few members of the greatest generation) who want to put the events of their lives in ...Read more

Twenty-seven years ago, the international bestselling book "Tuesdays With Morrie" was published, and since then, over 15 million copies have been sold. Millions more watched the ABC movie adaptation of the book, which starred Jack Lemmon as Morrie and Hank Azaria as author Mitch Albom. It's a short, sentimental book that honors the mutually ...Read more

In the last column, we discussed the surprising trend of increased drinking among older Americans, as well as the risks that accompany alcohol dependency. We all most likely know someone who has overused alcohol for a long time -- perhaps it's an uncle who always drinks too much at family dinners, or a sorority sister who can't get through the ...Read more

A study in the JAMA Psychiatry journal revealed a surprising health risk among older Americans. Researchers compared data from a national survey of about 40,000 conducted in 2001 and 2002, and again in 2012 and 2013. They found that "high-risk drinking" had increased for every age group, but the greatest increase was among older adults. The ...Read more

As many of you know, my much-loved husband, Tony, died a few years ago. Since there are almost 14 million widows in America today, I am well aware that whatever challenges I've had to deal with since his death are probably not all that unique. Unfortunately, I have felt blindsided by many of the issues that survivors must face after the death of...Read more

Poet Robert Browning once wrote, "Grow old along with me!/ The best is yet to be."

Today, I'd like to continue sharing with you my fondness for Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland's remarkable book "The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being." This gifted author (who died in 2014 at age 83) wrote the book when he was in his 70s, and used his ...Read more

For four decades, I was lucky enough to be a professional book critic. Sometimes my reviews would appear in The Wall Street Journal; sometimes they would show up in The Sunday Times; and frequently they would be in large American local newspapers -- from Los Angeles to Seattle to Dallas to Miami -- that regularly included "book pages" as part of...Read more