View The Digital Edition of Live Well Spring 2016 >>
Welcome to Live Well, a feature magazine of ideas and resources aimed at people in the Pioneer Valley who are 50 years of age and over. They’re a diverse group, with many interests and needs – and in demographic terms, they’re also one of the fastest growing age groups in our region and in the country. Founded in 2011 and published twice a year, Live Well’s story selection includes pieces that speak to the lives of our communities’ residents, with features on health and fitness, financial and legal issues, retirement and employment, and leisure-time activities. In this issue, we explore a fast-growing trend both in the nation and in the Valley – telling your personal story.
Whether it’s through memoirs, short stories, journals, books or videos, there’s little doubt that people from the baby boom – and those both older and younger – desire to leave a record of their legacy. Most aren’t seeking a best-seller, but rather want to share their life experiences with family and friends. Some pay ghostwriters. Others take classes where they can practice writing and share their story in an intimate setting. Still others are do-it-yourselfers. There really is no wrong way to write your memoirs. It’s your story.
In our cover story, writer Elissa Alford goes one-on-one with many experts in field of memoir writing – some who earn a living through the medium and others who lead classes for fun because they get a thrill out of hearing about other peoples’ fascinating lives. They share their thoughts about why memoirs are important, how a class can prove beneficial and how to get started.
Along this theme, we asked a handful of people to share excerpts from their memoirs. Some are funny, others are poignant, all are unique. Because we couldn’t fit all of the memoirs submitted to us, the fall edition of Live Well will include a few more excerpts.
Also in this issue, we introduce a new Sexuality and Aging column by Northampton resident Jane Fleishman, who recently finished her doctorate and now seeks to bring the topic of aging and sexuality out of the closet; we visit Rotterdam, an unsung port city in the Netherlands, with regular traveler writer Max Hartshorne of South Deerfield, editor of the travel website gonomad.com; we get answers to frequent questions about joint replacement surgery from a Cooley Dickinson Hospital doctor; and we learn how to keep a fit memory from geriatric case manager and patient advocate Janet Bunce. The next issue of Live Well comes out in the fall. As always, we welcome suggestions for story ideas. Email us at livewell@gazettenet.com.
– Chad Cain, Editor