“You might think sitting with someone who is dying means you will be having big conversations about the meaning of life,” a hospice chaplain had advised me. “Wrong! Sometimes, all that’s called for is to just show up and watch Jeopardy! together.”

“We do ourselves and others a disservice when we make old age something to be feared. Life is not a resource to be used up, so that the older we get, the less life we have left. Life is the accumulation of wisdom, love and experience of people encountered and…

“Your health account, your bank account, they’re the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out.”

“It is surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.”

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”

“In our culture, older women are rarely seen or heard. What a shame. We are missing out on the wisdom and experiences of a huge portion of the population.”