Summer Reading
I can’t pretend to read only books about aging but I do confess that my reading tastes include fiction that provides insight into the experience of people who are aging. A recent find is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It came highly recommended; I borrowed from the library of a reader whose taste were eclectic and refined. I found it engrossing. And not just the story of a young man in the Depression-era travelling circus; the old man yearning to be freed from his family and circumstances (the nursing home). If one purpose of reading is being taken places you’ve never been (but recognize when you arrive) then Gruen is a good guide both to the drama of the circus and the backwater of boredom that all too often must be the province of our seniors. Try it yourself!
Road Trip!
Tomorrow we travel to Washington, D. C. to attend the Open House for the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA). The special guests are impressive: Dr. Gene Cohen, Maria Genne, Anthony Hyatt, and Stuart Kandell. There will be storytelling, drama, music, poetry and visuals to celebrate the new home of the NCCA. The Center will be partnering with the George Washington University’s Center on Aging, Health & Humanities. Dr. Jean Johnson, senior associate dean for GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences said “This is one of the most exciting partnerships. [It] will impact how we teach and think about aging, reaching beyond the GW Medical Center and extending to the national and global communities.”
This is exciting for us because we are the creative aging network for North Carolina! Our communities will benefit from the development of programs based on the research results coming from this partnership. We’ll let you know how the trip goes and what we learn!
To learn more about the Center for Creative Aging-North Carolina (CCA-NC) go to www.cca-nc.org and check us out!
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