Last Week’s Links

In preparing this post for publication, I realize that all these pieces revolve around remembrance.

On the Intoxicating Power of Forgetting Where You Came From

In this excerpt from the book A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past, author Lewis Hyde “explores the egoism of memory and self-making.” Hyde tells an anecdote about Larry Rosenberg, a teacher from the Insight Meditation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, visiting the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a preserved building much like the one Rosenberg grew up in. What most caught my eye was this:

Rosenberg told this story in the context of a talk about a distinction he draws from Buddhist teaching between “real time” and “psychological time.” With real time, we do not dwell on (or dwell in) the past or the future but simply note them (saying, “I grew up in New York” or “When I retire I’m going to Florida,” and so on). With psychological time, on the other hand, past and future take over the present; we live in them, identifying with their pleasures and pains. As the Buddhists say, we “make self” out of them (as I might make self out of my pride in publishing a book or my shame over having flunked a chemistry exam).

This distinction between these two kinds of time describes the difference between mere facts, such as date of birth, and those experiences that we incorporate into our life story, the narrative of personal events we build up over time to help us make sense of the world and our unique place in it.

Where Are All the Books About Menopause?

Having undergone a hysterectomy at age 44, Sarah Manguso ponders how “For women, aging is framed as a series of losses—of fertility, of sexuality, of beauty. But it can be a liberation, too.”

The Clarks Originals You Didn’t Even Know You Needed (Until Now)

This is not an advertisement from me (although it is an endorsement from Esquire) but rather a reminiscence.

Do you remember Clark Wallabees?

First debuted in 1967, the Wallabee has more than a half-century of history behind it. Originally based on a German-designed moccasin, the style didn’t catch on in Clarks’ native Britain initially. But it enjoyed success in North America, and it was a runaway hit in Jamaica. See, Jamaican “rude boys” had already adopted the desert boot—which was launched in 1950—as part of their de facto uniform, and the associated criminal activity made the footwear a target for police. When Wallees came onto the scene, they were immediately brought into the fold.

The article goes on to explain that Wallabees became popular in the U.S. because of “the influx of Jamaican immigrants to New York in the ’80s.”

I bought my Wallabees in the early 1970s, on a trip to San Francisco. I had to learn not to tie them tightly, like sneakers, but more loosely to allow for the shoes’ lower fit on the foot. Once I learned that trick, I wore them all around San Francisco (although I did not wear accompanying flowers in my hair) and for a long time afterwards.

I hadn’t thought about Wallabees for a long time. What a pleasant surprise to see them recommended as an acceptable fashion accessory for young adult males.

Apollo 11 at 50: Space program transfixed Americans, changed pop culture

UPI asserts that humans’ first walk on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969, was the culmination of a craze that since 1961 “had influenced pop culture — entertainment, architecture, fashion, consumer goods and language.”

Words linked to space were everywhere, with American space explorers called astronauts and the Russian counterparts called cosmonauts. People found ways to use “liftoff,” “launch” and “rendezvous” for purposes other than space talk. And phrases “space cadet,” “it’s not rocket science” and “spaced out” became commonplace.

The article goes on to list how the space craze’s influence showed up in all kinds of ways: toys, candy, cars, television, movies, music, fashion, architecture, Disney World (Florida). In Houston, where the astronauts trained, the baseball team the Colt 45s was renamed the Astros. They soon had a new indoor home, the Astrodome, which opened in 1962.

The moon landing was “a demonstration of what the human species could achieve,” but in the next five to six years the “feel-good moments were gone,” replaced by “the 1-2 punch of Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War.”

How about you?

Do you remember Clark Wallabees, the moon landing, the Astrodome, or menopause?

Last Week’s Links

Here are some of the more interesting articles from around the web that caught my interest over the last week.

A 40-Something Looks Back at ‘Thirtysomething’

As a teenager, a writer secretly viewed the ABC drama in her basement, trying to learn about marriage. Rewatching it now, she is surprised at the actual lessons she’d absorbed.

Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

BookBrowse offers notes and reviews of this newly released book by Louise Aronson.

Can You Reshape Your Brain’s Response To Pain?

This article discusses the current understanding of how trauma, especially childhood trauma, can cause physical pain that may continue throughout one’s life. A new form of therapy, emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET), has been shown in a small study to help patients alleviate their chronic pain. According to “Pain Management Best Practices,” a report published in May from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Research indicates that EAET has a positive impact on pain intensity, pain interference, and depressive symptoms.”

The article focuses on how the treatment’s emphasis on recognizing and understanding childhood emotional trauma can help adults who experience the widespread chronic pain of fibromyalgia. One need not have lived through horrific childhood experiences such as accidents or school shootings. Neuroscientists now recognize that prolonged exposure to verbal and emotional trauma (such as bullying or humiliation by others, particularly adults) can be as damaging as physical abuse.

New payroll tax is pioneering experiment to help Washington state seniors age at home

Nearly a decade after federal officials discarded a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would have provided Americans with long-term care insurance benefits, two states — Washington and Hawaii — are experimenting with taxpayer-funded plans to help older residents remain in their homes.

Becoming a Digital Grandparent

Paula Span, a grandmother herself, assures us that engaging in interactive screen chats with grandchildren doesn’t violate the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations of limiting children’s screen time. Those guidelines “exempt video chat, which is inherently interactive and doesn’t involve the same sped-up pace, overstimulation or passivity as, say, watching cartoons.”

The Many, Tangled American Definitions of Socialism

I’ve often thought that no self-proclaimed socialist will have a shot at being elected president of the U.S. until after all of us born at the beginning of the Baby Boomer era have died. After all, we remember what that second S in U.S.S.R. stood for.

the historian John Gurda would like to add some perspective to how we think about socialism. The term has been “ground into the dust over the years,” he told me, when we met in his home town of Milwaukee, and his aim is to rehabilitate it. “Part of my self-assigned role is to provide some of the context, the nuance, where it makes sense again. Because it’s the straw man, it’s the boogeyman for an awful lot of people.”

Last Week’s Links

Pavarotti Captured the Sublime and Vulgar Sides of Opera

Even if you’re not interested in opera, you might find this article informative about Ron Howard’s new documentary film about Luciano Pavarotti.

Opera fans hold on to his 1960s and ’70s glory days, when his sunny voice was in its prime . . . and he challenged himself in corners of the bel canto repertory. The broader public is likelier to remember the cheesy charity concerts and duets with Bono, the guilty “Three Tenors” pleasure with a white handkerchief clutched in his hand and endless high C’s.

According to this article, Pavarotti “never learned to read music.”

Storytelling Helps Hospital Staff Learn About The Person, Not Just The Patient

VA hospitals are pioneering the use of storytelling to strengthen the relationships patients have with doctors and nurses. With more information about patients, there may be some health benefits.

The medical profession is catching on to the notion that you can’t really know people until you know their life stories.

Seattle man finds cache of historical photos by famed crime photographer Weegee in his kitchen cabinet

Check those attics, basements, garages, and kitchen cabinets, folks!

Stonewall: The Making of a Monument

Ever since the 1969 riots on the streets outside New York City’s Stonewall Inn, L.G.B.T.Q. communities have gathered there to express their joy, their anger, their pain and their power.

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Donating Your Body to Science

Organ donation is one way of leaving your body to science. But this article discusses how to donate your entire body and how whole bodies (cadavers) are used to further scientific study.

Deadly Falls in Older Americans Are Rising. Here’s How to Prevent Them

The rate of deaths after falls is rising for people over 75, a new study shows. But falls are avoidable for most seniors. We have some tips.

The Man Who Told America the Truth About D-Day

Ernie Pyle’s dispatches offered comfort to readers back home. Then the Normandy landings — 75 years ago this week — changed his perspective on the war’s costs

Last Week’s Links

Why Your Brain Hates Other People

This article, originally published in 2017, looks at evidence that suggests our inclination to “otherize” people—to separate people into categories of us vs. them—may be hardwired into our brains. But I especially like the subtitle: “And how to make it think differently.”

Anne Frank: the real story of the girl behind the diary

Boisterous, popular, self-aware: a new collection of all Frank’s known writing brings her into sharp focus, says the Costa-winning biographer.

This article is by Bart van Es, author of Anne Frank: The Collected Works.

David Milch’s Third Act

Despite what dementia has stolen from the cerebral creator of “Deadwood,” it has given his work a new sense of urgency.

Mark Singer offers a profile of and reports on conversations with David Milch.

10,000 Steps A Day? How Many You Really Need To Boost Longevity

A report from NPR:

Many pedometers and fitness tracking apps set a baseline goal of taking 10,000 steps a day. It’s a nice, big round number — with zero basis in science. A recent study of older women found significant health benefits even below 5,000 steps — and no added benefit above 7,500.

Asking our readers about their hometowns brought back nostalgic memories and emotions — some bitter, some sweet

WHEN I WROTE over the holidays about my mixed feelings about my hometown, I asked you to submit reflections on your relationship to your own hometowns. Nearly 100 of you responded, with a depth of insight, searching, humor, pride and pain that left my head spinning.

Read some of the responses about hometowns, complete with an interactive map.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

What memories about your hometown does this article bring up?

Last Week’s Links

Here are some articles that caught my eye over the past several days.

Can We Live Longer but Stay Younger?

Here’s a long though fascinating look at what goes on in the AgeLab, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. Here researchers work not only on adaptive devices to help with the problems of physical aging but also on questions about whether those problems of aging can be biologically controlled.

Thinking About Retirement? Start With A Book

Retirement expert Sara Zeff Geber offers some reading suggestions in this article for Forbes.

How to Get the Best From Your Immune System

Here’s a booster for your immune system: an explanation of how it works and how to take care of it.

Most older adults don’t ask doctors about dementia, survey says

Only 10 percent of people between ages 50 and 64 with a family history of dementia say they have talked to a doctor about preventing memory problems, according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging published Wednesday at the University of Michigan.

How to Revisit the Ghosts of Your Past

We all have moments from our past that gnaw at us — a regret, an unanswered question, an old tragedy. We obsess over these moments when we can’t sleep, or when we need a good cry. But most days, we try to ignore these unwelcome memories, pushing them aside so we can buy groceries or go to work or do new things that we won’t regret. Our poor choices and hurt feelings fade to the background, until another quiet moment beckons them to come pick at us again.

In this way, a single moment can pester us for years and years — unless we return to the past and confront it head on.

Kalila Holt has some advice on how to undertake the process of confronting such moments head on.

Arthritis supplement glucosamine may lower heart disease risk

Finally, some good news:

Glucosamine has long been used as a supplement to help ease the joint pain of arthritis, but new research suggests its anti-inflammatory properties might also lower heart disease risk.

Novel Alzheimer’s drug passes first phase of human testing

And a bit more good news:

A new drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease has successfully passed the first phase of testing in humans. Preclinical studies had already shown that the drug could improve memory and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in older mice.

Last Week’s Links

Here’s a short entry for this busy holiday week.

Social Security calling? Nope, it’s scammers out to grab your cash

Don’t be fooled by scammers who claim to be calling from the Social Security Administration:

Crooks increasingly are impersonating an official from the Social Security Administration, making harassing calls similar to the annoying Internal Revenue Service calls.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network now has had more complaints to its helpline in the past few months from consumers targeted by Social Security impostors than the old IRS scam, according to Amy Nofziger, AARP fraud expert.

This article reports on how the scam works and offers this reassurance: “Social Security also isn’t going to call and threaten that your benefits will be terminated.”

The maternity homes where ‘mind control’ was used on teen moms to give up their babies

Many of us are old enough to remember the existence of these places:

Wilson-Buterbaugh and Ellerby are among an estimated 1.5 million unwed mothers in the United States who were forced to have their babies and give them up for adoption in the two decades before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in 1973, according to Ann Fessler’s book “The Girls Who Went Away.” Mostly white, middle-class teens and young women were systematically shamed, hidden in maternity homes and then coerced into handing over their children to adoption agencies without being informed of their legal rights.

Why Have Writers Neglected Elderly Lovers?

Here is an excerpt from Susan Gubar’s recently published book Late-Life Love, a project she undertook to discover how literature and other art forms have portrayed love among older adults.

The best books on Ageing

Novelist, biographer and critic Dame Margaret Drabble, now aged 77, discusses the difficult questions that arise as we age—and recommends five books that examine them in depth.

Drabble’s most recent novel, The Dark Flood Rises, features an older adult protagonist.

Last Week’s Links

Writing over 50: A Teacher’s Own Lessons

I’ve worked with a lot of older adults whose retirement has given them the free time to do the writing they’ve always wanted to do, whether they’re interested in life writing (memoir), fiction, or poetry. Here Peter Krass, himself an older writer who has taught online workshops for over–50 writers, explains what he has learned from his students:

my students have shown me that while older writers do face unique challenges, they also possess special strengths. What’s more, these strengths are more than equal to the challenges.

Read here his lists of both common challenges and common strengths his students have taught him. And if you’re interested in writing, let this article encourage you to look for a writing program that fits your requirements.

Retiring Retirement

A growing portion of the elderly look and act anything but.

Linda Marsa reports that, although it’s true the number of over–65 people is increasing, many of those people are still healthy enough to want to continue working.

Americans over age 60 are working longer and participating in the labor force at greater rates, according to a 2016 Brookings Institute report. And not just to beef up the bottom line. A study by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave found that nearly 50 percent of retirees want to continue working in retirement. About a third say it’s because they need the money. Two-thirds, however, say they just want to stay mentally active.

What Books Were Bestsellers the Year You Were Born?

Are you interested in finding out what books were birthed the same year you were? Literary Hub has you covered with these two lists:

I’ve read exactly one of the fiction selections and one of the nonfiction books for my birth year.

8 Old-Lady Novels That Prove Life Doesn’t End at 80

Novelist Heidi Sopinka writes, “older women in literature … arguably represent one of the most underwritten aspects of female experience. Even when they do manage to get into a book, they almost exclusively face sexism for being ‘unlikeable.’”

When “the image of a 92-year-old woman, vital, working, came into [her] head,” Sopinka wrote her début novel, The Dictionary of Animal Languages, around that character. While working on the novel, she “began seeking out an old-lady canon”:

It wasn’t female aging that fascinated me as much as I wanted to swing into the viewpoint of a woman who had lived a long complicated life, deeply occupied by her work. I began to think of my book as a coming-of-death novel… .

Weirdly, the closer I delved into the closed-in days of looming death, the more I learned about living. Still, there is such a fear of female power in our culture that older women are ignored or infantilized, as though they are somehow less complex than us even though they are us, plus time.

Here she offers a list of eight books that are “unafraid to take on the full measure of a woman’s life”:

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
Stet by Diana Athill
Destruction of the Father by Louise Bourgeois
Writings by Agnes Martin

Last Week’s Links

How to enjoy a restaurant meal when you’re on a restricted diet

I was drawn to this article because I’ve developed a sensitivity to gluten. Here Nicole Tsong writes:

Taking out things like sugar, gluten, dairy and soy, in particular, can create new hurdles when eating out. That said, I refuse to be a food hermit. I like to see friends, and enjoy delicious food prepared by someone else.

Here’s her advice on how to accommodate restaurant meals to your needs.

One word of caution here: she’s talking about people who sometimes choose to undergo a dietary cleanse, not people who are actually allergic to certain foods. Her conclusion “if you happen to eat an ingredient you aren’t supposed to, you’ll be fine” pertains to them, not to anyone with a true sensitivity to particular ingredients.

Fruits, Veggies, Orange Juice May Protect Men’s Memory

This short article reports on a study recently published in the journal Neurology that found “higher intakes of total vegetables, total fruits, and fruit juice were each significantly associated with lower odds of moderate or poor SCF [subjective cognitive function]” in men. Just another reminder that we should be sure to eat our fruits and veggies.

It’s Almost 2019. Do You Know Where Your Photos Are?

Do you remember how, back in the days when photos were actual printed things, we used to skimp on taking pictures because of the cost of buying and, even more, processing film? The advent of digital photography means that we now take all photos we want, with the intention of deleting the multitude of bad ones and keeping only the best few. Except that most of us probably never go through and do all that deleting.

And even if we do, there’s still the problem of what to do with all the photos. Over the years many internet companies have come and gone for the purpose of serving as our digital shoe box. This article summarizes the history of sites like Flickr and Yahoo! Photos and offers some current advice on what to do with all the photos we now have on our phones, on thumb drives, and probably in various cloud storage services.

I Wrote an Historical Novel About the JFK Assassination. I Was Shocked By What I Found.

I was in 8th grade math class when the school announced over the PA system that the President had been shot. The assassination of John F. Kennedy is the first significant historical event that I remember. Like most of my generation, I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

Lou Berney, author of the recently published novel November Road, details the findings of his research for writing a novel that includes characters of the periphery of the Kennedy assassination. (I have this book on my TBR shelf but haven’t read it yet.) Because there have been thousands of books written about the main characters involved in the assassination—John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby—Berney explains, he decided “to steer clear of the main players and focus instead on the edges of the assassination, on characters whose lives are changed, and threatened, by the death of the president.”

The official Warren Commission Report concluded that there was no conspiracy in the Kennedy assassination. Yet many conspiracy theorists believe that the KGB, the mafia, or the CIA—or perhaps all three—was involved. After his research Berney concluded that “the facts themselves are almost as incredible” as the conspiracy theories.

my perspective on my novel was profoundly altered by the discovery of all those secret government schemes and cover-ups, of organized crime woven tightly into the very fabric of American politics, of so many astoundingly colorful characters and a president who was so reckless in his personal life. I opened the door to that world, walked through, and never looked back.

I’ve just mentally moved this novel higher up in my TBR (to be read) queue.

Last Week’s Links

How to train your brain to accept change, according to neuroscience

Change is naturally more difficult as we age, but it’s beneficial to our cognitive health to stimulate and encourage it.

Because our brains have evolved to resist change, accepting changes, even when we know they are for our own good, can be difficult. Nicole Spector offers some advice for teaching our brains to accept change:

Do cognitive rehabilitation exercises—the gym for the brain
Learn a new language or a task that is out of your comfort zone

Learning something new, something that we never thought we’d be able to do, can give us the confidence to undertake other new experiences:

Over the years, we learn to succeed by viewing our previous failures and successes in a certain light and as we get older we lose sight of that. When you try a new thing it makes you more confident to try to do more new things.

Michael Douglas Refuses to Age Gracefully in ‘The Kominsky Method’

Playing a shabby acting coach in his first ongoing TV role since the 1970s, the “Wall Street” star confronts the realities of growing older, onscreen and in his own life.

Dave Itzhoff profiles actor Michael Douglas, who, at age 74, portrays an aging acting coach in the Netflix series The Kiminsky Method.

On “The Kominsky Method,” [Chuck] Lorre [the show’s creator] said he wanted a show … that would let him address topics about confronting aging and mortality that are usually shunned on such programs.

Douglas stars along with Alan Arkin, whose character’s wife dies in the show’s first episode, “forcing Kominsky [played by Douglas] to realize that his own time on earth, however degrading, is also limited.”

THE FUTURE OF AGING JUST MIGHT BE IN MARGARITAVILLE

Kim Tingley reports for The New York Times Magazine on Latitude Margaritaville, a community for residents 55 and over, being built along a highway in Daytona Beach, Florida. As the name suggests, the community is based on music by Jimmy Buffett.

The real frontier here, though, was not the surrounding wilderness but a hitherto uncolonized stretch of time: the multiple decades that more and more Americans can expect to live in better and better health after they retire. What will these pioneers do? Who will they become? And how will that, in turn, alter the course of human history?

Tingley describes Latitude Margaritaville as one of many experiments the senior housing industry is undertaking. These experiments are driven by statistics:

The Census Bureau projects that in 2034, for the first time ever, people 65 and older will outnumber those under 18. Americans are living longer and having fewer children, and fewer immigrants are showing up.

Yet communities specifically designed for seniors face a dilemma: How do they conceal the facts of living that help residents adapt to the needs of aging? At what age does the notion of life as a beach party become obsolete? These are questions that the growing industry of senior housing seeks to find answers for.

WILL THE GOVERNMENT BLOCK THIS GENETICIST FROM SELLING AN ANTI-AGING PILL?

Molly Fosco profiles David Sinclair:

he’s a professor of genetics at Harvard and founder of the Sinclair Lab, where he and his team study the processes that cause age-related diseases. Sinclair aims to develop a drug that will interrupt these processes and, ultimately, find the Holy Grail: a way to reverse aging. If, that is, he can get government approval — and at the moment that’s looking doubtful.

Age-related diseases include high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and dementia. According to Fosco, Sinclair believes that doctors who treat these diseases are going about it all wrong because they do not treat aging itself as a disease:

“Your doctor should be able to prescribe a drug that would slow or reverse aging,” he [Sinclair] says, “the same way he or she would prescribe a drug for high cholesterol.”

Sinclair doesn’t want to simply increase the human lifespan; he wants to increase the number of years people live healthy, mobile, and disease-free lives. His approach puts him outside the mainstream of scientific research into aging.

After a Wildfire, Rebuilding Life Can Be Hardest for the Oldest

Alexandra S. Levine reports on the recent California wildfire:

The hardest-hit community, Paradise, Calif., was a popular place to retire, with more than one-quarter of its residents 65 or older, according to census figures. Many of them have now lost everything late in life and must start over from zero, often with little support and with major health challenges.

The fire was devastating to the region’s high population of older adults:

Many of the thousands of structures in Paradise and surrounding parts of Butte County that were lost in the fire were nursing homes, assisted living facilities, other geriatric care centers or mobile home parks catering to retirees. Roughly 2,300 residents of the fire zone had relied on in-home health aides, according to Shelby Boston, the county director of employment and social services.

Last Week’s Links

20 DEBUT WORKS OF FICTION BY WOMEN OVER 40

It’s not unusual to come across lists of young writers, particularly young women writers. While these lists showcase young people’s achievements, where are the opportunities for older people, particularly older women who may have had to postpone undertaking a writing career while focusing on the more traditional expectations for women: caring for a home and children?

But, according to Jenny Bhatt:

there are also many successful examples to serve as role models and provide ongoing inspiration for older writers—or aspiring writers of any age.

Below is a list of women writers who debuted works of fiction at or after the age of 40 and went on to achieve even more success. While not exhaustive, it shows clearly that women writers are not past their prime after a certain age. In fact, many are not even “late-bloomers”—they have simply deferred publishing due to family or career commitments. But the most striking aspect that unites all of these works is how each incorporates the collected, distilled wisdom, a lifetime of reading, and the sheer radicalism that could not have been possible for a younger writer.

Enjoy Bhatt’s list, which includes the following authors:

Penelope Fitzgerald, age 60
Mary Wesley, 71
Harriet Doerr, 74

How To Stay Together For 50 Years

This week on Refinery29, we’re filling your screens and consciousness with inspiring women over 50. Why? Because living in a culture obsessed with youth is exhausting for everyone. Ageing is a privilege, not something to dread.

In this article Amelia Abraham writes, “When I think about all the relationships I’ve had that fizzled out around the one-year mark, I wonder whether I could even go the distance of five years, let alone 50.” She meets with three couples to discover their secrets for staying together for 50 years. Meet these couples:

Jill and Michael, married for 57 years
Ron and Ellen, married for 63 years
Isabell and Ronnie, married for 57 years

Their secrets for achieving a long marriage include hard work, forgiveness, keeping romance alive, never walking away from an argument, and making a decision and sticking with it.

THE CHEERFUL SINNERS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST’S WILDEST PORT CITY

In case you missed this tidbit about me, we retired to Tacoma, WA, from St. Louis about five years ago. We love the Pacific Northwest, and one of our favorite activities is exploring new areas. We’ve visited Port Townsend, WA, several times and knew that it has a salty nautical heritage, so this article caught my eye.

Enjoy reading about the colorful history of Port Townsend, including its part in creating the phrase “to get Shanghaied.”

How to Take Charge of Your Medical Care

My mother was of a generation that thought of doctors as gods. She trusted doctors completely and did whatever they told her to do. When I once asked her what medications she was taking and what they were for, she had no idea.

But most people today take a more active approach to their health care (I hope). This article provides good advice for doing just that.

The best time to start taking charge of your medical care is when you’re not facing an emergency, and the article begins with a section on what to do when you’re healthy. It continues with sections about seeing a medical professional, being admitted to a hospital, returning home after hospitalization, and advocating for others.

Why Doctors Hate Their Computers

Digitization promises to make medical care easier and more efficient; instead, doctors feel trapped behind their screens.

Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon and public-health researcher, reports on a seeming contradiction:

Something’s gone terribly wrong. Doctors are among the most technology-avid people in society; computerization has simplified tasks in many industries. Yet somehow we’ve reached a point where people in the medical profession actively, viscerally, volubly hate their computers.

Gawande uses his own experience with learning a new computer software program for medical records as a springboard to address the issue of how computerization affects the way people interact with each other. He writes:

Medicine is a complex adaptive system: it is made up of many interconnected, multilayered parts, and it is meant to evolve with time and changing conditions. Software is not. It is complex, but it does not adapt. That is the heart of the problem for its users, us humans.

This is a long article, but it treats in depth the question of how humans interact with each other as well as with technology.

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What Books Were Bestsellers the Year You Were Born?

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