THE LIBRARY
Everything I write,
organized.
Five pillars. One plan. Read straight through, or jump around.
What lives here
This is where everything I publish ends up. A few hundred words on a folder you can put together this weekend. A bathroom modification I wish I’d done five years earlier. A list of mistakes I made trying to build a village.
The work is organized into five pillars. Each one is a part of the same plan: staying in your own home, on your own terms, for as long as you can. Read straight through one pillar, or jump around as life pulls your attention.
If you’re not sure where to start, the Independence Assessment will point you somewhere specific in three minutes.
Stories
Not everything I write fits neatly into a pillar. Personal pieces, news I’ve been watching, kitchen-table thinking. The ones that read more like a letter from a friend than a how-to.
READ THE STORIES →
Preparedness
The paperwork nobody wants to do. Wills, directives, the folder that protects the people you love.
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At Home
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Strength
Balance, mobility and the daily habits that keep you in your own home past 70.
OPEN THE PILLAR →
Community
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Technology
The tools that quietly make independence easier without taking it over. Honest reviews of what works and what doesn’t.
OPEN THE PILLAR →
How to Build a Support Network Before You Actually Need One
In the last piece I told you that the night I sat down to list the people I could actually call, the list was short. I also told you I have spent the years since making it less short, on purpose. This is the part where I tell you how, because "build a village" is...
Independent Doesn’t Mean Alone. The Most Prepared People I Know Have Strong Support Networks.
We have gotten independence wrong. We treat it like a solo sport. The person who needs no one. Who does it all herself. Who would rather struggle than ask. We hand each other that picture like it is something to be proud of, and then we are surprised when it leaves...
The 5 Gentle Balance Moves I Do at Home (Holding the Counter)
This is the unglamorous one. The piece on why strength is your independence insurance was the reason. The ten-second sit-to-stand check was the gauge. This is the part nobody photographs: the small, boring balance practice I actually do, holding onto my own kitchen...
Can You Do This? The Sit-to-Stand Test That Tells You Where Your Independence Is Heading
Here is a question I want you to actually answer, not just read past. Can you stand up from a regular chair, and sit back down, without using your hands? Not in a hurry. Not for anyone watching. Just once, if you are somewhere safe to try it. Most people assume they...
Muscle Is Your Independence Insurance. Here’s Why That Changes Everything After 55.
Nobody ever told me that muscle was the thing standing between me and a stairlift. They told me it was about fitness. About looking good in a swimsuit I stopped wearing twenty years ago. About being athletic, which I never really was. So I filed it under optional, the...
Home Safety Audit: What I Found in My Own Home
I had lived in my house for more than twenty years. I knew where every creak in the floor was. I could walk it in the dark. If you had asked me whether it was safe, I would have looked at you like the question didn't make sense. Of course it was safe. It was home....
7 Things in Your Home Right Now That Are Fall Hazards (And How to Fix Them Today)
Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults over 65, and most of them happen at home, on ordinary floors, in ordinary rooms, doing ordinary things. That is not me trying to scare you. It is what the public health data has shown for years. I am not telling you...
The 5 Documents Every Adult Over 55 Needs (And Most Don’t Have)
I used to tell myself I'd get around to this. The problem with "getting around to it" is that you never know when "around to it" is actually too late. I learned that the hard way. I'm not going to tell that story here. I've told it before, and I've told it long...
Planning Ahead Isn’t Giving Up. It’s the Most Loving Thing You Can Do for Your Family.
Someone asked me once why I spend so much time on this. Isn't it depressing? Doesn't it just make you think about getting old? I said no. Not planning is depressing. Planning is what gives you your life back. I want to talk about that. Because I think the reason most...
I Was the Person Who Said ‘I’ll Deal With That Later.’ Here’s What Changed My Mind.
This is the article I wish existed three years ago, before someone I loved faced a crisis their family wasn't prepared for. That someone was me. The crisis was my husband's two-month hospital stay. And the family that wasn't prepared was mine. If you've ever told...
More articles coming.
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The Independence Assessment scores you across all five pillars in three minutes. You’ll see your strongest pillar, your weakest, and where to begin.