Minding Our Elders®

Internet Series “Ruth and Erica” Focuses on Family Dynamics and Alzheimer’s

 “Ruth & Erica” launched this week on the YouTube Internet channel WIGS, which, according to the press release, is now the most popular channel for scripted drama on YouTube. The show portrays the dynamics of a family facing the challenges that often accompany aging and ill health.

When I asked author and director Amy Lippman (Party of Five) what prompted her to write a drama about aging, she told me, “Over the past few years, I've become increasingly aware that my conversations with my friends were veering away from our usual talk about our kids to talk of our parents, how they were aging, and how their aging was affecting us. We were constantly seeking advice from each other: what were our responsibilities toward our parents?

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PBS documentary shows Alzheimer’s from a unique perspective

When Scott Kirschenbaum, who has long been an activist for elders, met Lee Gorewitz, something compelling happened. Kirschenbaum felt drawn to the still dynamic resident of Traditions Unit, a care facility for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Their meeting, combined with Kirschenbaum’s need to show the world what the life of one person who has Alzheimer’s is like, resulted in the PBS documentary “You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t.” 

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Study shows vitamin E could limit or prevent stroke damage

As is the case with so many vitamins, minerals, and prescription drugs, vitamin E supplementation has gone through times where it’s been heralded as a miracle later to be berated as a risk. A new study has once again brought vitamin E to the forefront as a possible preventative step for people at risk for strokes. This study authors put vitamin E right up there with the daily low-dose aspirin that many, if not most, doctors prescribe for middle aged men and post-menopausal women.

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‘Over 90 and Loving It’ glorious look at aging well

Much of what we read in the news is about how to care for our aging elders, many of whom are living their last years sadly diminished. However, there are remarkable exceptions. Our culture tends to ignore the fact that many people do age well and remain productive citizens until the end. A PBS documentary that will air early March, titled "Over 90 and Loving it,” shows people living lives of a quality that flies in the face of the stereotype.

Read about this amazing PBS documentary:

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HBO Alzheimer's Series on Amazon

For those of you without HBO or who may have missed the Alzheimer's Project series, you can stream it on your computer. Apart from that, the series will be available on Amazon.com in DVD format June 2. The price is $18.99. This project is worth watching more than once. HBO has done a fine job producing the series. The information is encouraging and vital to our collective knowledge of aging.