Creatively Aging

I know I may pay a bit more attention to Alzheimer’s and dementia than most people but it seems the world may be catching up with me! If the world is defined as central North Carolina, any way. It isn’t just that some recent events in town have spotlighted the perspective of people with dementia (through some of the events in the Center for Creative Aging – North Carolina‘s own Create &  Celebrate) but then the local powerhouse research university, UNCG, has announced a conference for later this summer: Living Well with Memory Loss: Finding the Balance. If this isn’t enough to think that dementia is finally getting its due then consider the world of fiction. Not one but two books tackle this difficult subject: Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Samantha Harvey‘s The Wilderness. I rave about Still Alice every chance I get and now I’m eagerly awaiting my experience with Jake, the main character in Harvey’s novel. A recent book review in Books & Culture alerted me to Harvey’s book (thank you David Brooks for introducing me to them through your column!).