“There are moments when I’m happier now than I remember being very often in the past, though these moments gleam out of a new solitude.”
aging
It’s the Coolest Rock Show in Ann Arbor. And Almost Everyone There Is Over 65.
“At the “Geezer Happy Hour,” the ‘silver tsunami’ has been dancing for decades.”
The Sunset
Lisa Bubert | Longreads | November 30, 2022 | 11 minutes (3,072 words) When I was 19, a nursing home hired me to work as an aide. There wasn’t much to the interview that I remember, other than I agreed to come to work on time and take the certification course the home provided. In […]
Notes for a Post-apocalyptic Novel
When things get hard, we look to our most fundamental relationships. This is the story of a son, a father, a camper van, a pandemic, and the ties that bind.
In Absentia
A meditation on the nature of grief, at a time when the whole world seems to be grieving.
Molly and the Unicorn
Emily Flake reflects on the shifting nature of magic and power in middle age.
How I Got My Shrink Back
An entanglement with her shrink-stalking protege teaches Susan Shapiro something about forgiveness.
My Semester With the Snowflakes
A 52-year-old former Naval officer enrolls as an undergraduate at Yale, alongside a primarily 18- to 22-year-old student body. Contrary to what his contemporaries expect, in the midst of tackling complicated ideas with his classmates, despite their differences, he finds he has great respect for his them — and they have great respect for him.
What Shattered My Mother’s Mind
Winston Ross recalls the heartbreaking ordeal his family endured after his mother’s routine surgery led to post-operative delirium.
Why I Wanted to Finish My Father’s Life’s Work
In this personal essay, Karen Brown recalls the pain and joy of fulfilling a deathbed promise.