This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Carla Bacon, 69, who is caring for her 70-year-old husband while working a full-time job in Oklahoma. Bacon’s husband has slowly been recovering from a stroke, and they’ve had to go into medical debt to make ends meet. This interview has been edited for length and
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ruth Olinger, 70, who is raising her grandson on her own in Lakeland, Florida. Olinger had earlier fostered dozens of children and did mission work. Now, Olinger said she can’t retire and paid over $10,000 for her son’s day care. This interview has been edited for
Three years ago, when I met someone 21 years my junior in an online class, I never thought we’d become close. Each week in a writing class, we filled the video call with highly personal details about our lives as we learned how to tell our stories. We spilled our emotions in front of dozens
We’ve all heard stories of familial feud after a loved one passes and assets are divided. Verbal promises become null and void once the person who made the pledge is gone — or perhaps those promises were never made to begin with. And even words written into legal wills can spark arguments and resentment for
Watching Charlotte Lim at work in the gym, it’s easy to forget that she’s 80. She does a pull-up, chin clearing the bar with ease. She drops to the ground and powers through a set of feet-elevated push-ups. Then, she grabs a dumbbell off the rack, holds it close to her chest, and drops into
This essay as told is based on a conversation with Teri Carlyle, 58, who lives with her sister and father in Vallejo, California. Carlyle said that multigenerational living The agreement has worked well for them and has allowed the family to reduce costs. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. I have had
