ArcaMax

ATTENTION MARILYN MURRAY WILLISON EDITORS: THE FOLLOWING COLUMN WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2018. THANK YOU. -- CREATORS

Be Bold

Have you noticed that something strange seems to happen after you reach the age of 60? The people in our lives, especially those closest to us, often make a quiet (but frequently misguided) gear shift into protection...Read more

Last month, I wrote about the remarkable book "Genius Food," which gave me a whole new perspective on our health in general and diabetes in particular. According to author Max Lugavere and his co-author, Dr. Paul Grewal, a variety of medical issues stem from our bodies' inability to process all the sugar found in the standard American diet. Some...Read more

I just love it when I learn about an experiment that has turned out to be a win-win for everyone involved. Don't you?

Back in 1982, the Housing Opportunities & Maintenance for the Elderly organization in Chicago, or H.O.M.E., started as an experiment in innovative housing options for low-income seniors. Pat Crowley House was the first ...Read more

Ever since the 2008 Great Recession, large numbers of young people have chosen (or been forced because of finances) to move back home and live with Mom and Dad. But according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, nearly half of Americans who are in their 40s and 50s have a parent who is 65 years or older and are either raising a young child or ...Read more

I live in South Florida, which is frequently referred to as the home of the silver tsunami. This phrase describes the fact that people like me, the baby boomers (there are 74.9 million of us, born between 1946 and 1964), are beginning to hit retirement age. Unfortunately, this happens to be the precise age when most cases of Alzheimer's disease ...Read more

For those of us old enough to remember the popular TV program "American Bandstand," dancing has always seemed like a fun social activity. And even now, when "Dancing with the Stars" is a hit network show, few people think of dancing as an easy way for seniors to stay healthy and avoid health problems. But the truth is, as far back as the 1940s, ...Read more

My new personal hero is New York Times science writer John Schwartz, but the reason I admire him so much has nothing at all to do with science. He is on my hero list because he was brave enough to honestly admit that he was "financially squeamish" and then (as a public service) decided to share his story -- and his money issues -- with the rest ...Read more

I had never heard of what is officially labeled "broken heart syndrome" until a friend of mine collapsed five weeks after her long-term sweetheart died. She was rushed to the emergency room and admitted into the hospital, but within 36 hours, she, too, was dead. When 92-year-old former first lady Barbara Bush died in 2018, her husband -- of 73 ...Read more

Wouldn't it be nice to think of getting older as exhilarating rather than terrifying? Learning to accept all the aspects of aging -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- was the goal that inspired former NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty to write one of my favorite books of 2016, "Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife."

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It's no secret that when I come across an amazing book, I feel compelled to sing its praises to anyone who will listen. I'm practically a professional proselytizer for the publishing industry! (How's that for alliteration?)

The latest book that I'm urging everyone -- especially baby boomers -- to read is "Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, ...Read more

For many of my baby boomer peers, the most-dreaded activity on the horizon is the possibility of being forced to downsize from where they currently live to a smaller residence. The prospect is so distasteful to me that I have actually begun writing a new nonfiction book devoted to the unpleasant topic of divesting ourselves of the treasured ...Read more

Back in 1982, Thomas Moore published the first of more than 20 books about the human condition. You may be familiar with his work for the Huffington Post, but this remarkable man is more than just an author or columnist. In fact, it could be argued that he is a renaissance man for our era because he is a former monk, a university professor, a ...Read more

It's no secret that whatever our age happens to be, physical exercise is essential. But the sad fact is that inactivity seems to invariably increase with the passing years. By the time we are in our 30s, we can lose 3% to 5% of our muscle mass with each decade. By age 75, about 1 in every 3 men and 1 in every 2 women engage in no physical ...Read more