Zestful Aging

Many of us know how painful it can be to watch a once vibrant person lose function in their mind and body. Denise Medved knows this story all too well. She lost her mother to Alzheimer's Disease. On top of the grief she suffered, she was left wondering what the future had in store for her as she aged. Through extensive research, Denise discovered that the number one concern of people of all ages i...

We all know that being part of a community is good for our health. We deeply crave a sense of belonging, especially these days. After all, we're mammals, and we're designed to be with others. But what if your community also helped cut down on waste and challenged the values of our consumer culture? That would be an amazing community! Welcome to the Buy Nothing Project. The Buy Nothing Project was...

Having grown up in a multigenerational home, aging expert Isabel Tom wants us to consider how our attitudes toward aging affect our elders. She's passionate about helping us develop better relationships with elders, both for their sake and ours. She believes it's a great loss for both young and old to experience life separately. A writer, speaker and educator, Isabel Tom wants to teach us the valu...

Unless you are a devout minimalist you have a lot of stuff. We're surprised how much stuff we have. Where does it all come from? But have we thought about our relationship to our things? How does it change over our life span? Why is it more complicated than just figuring out something in our closet "sparks joy"? Professor David Ekerdt has researched questions like these over his academic career. H...

The mother of extreme climber Alex Honnold, star of the Oscar winning documentary "Free Solo", decided to take up extreme sports in her sixties. At age 66, Deirdre Wolownick set a record of her own on El Capitan – becoming the oldest woman ever to climb that sheer rock face. A multi talented woman in her own right, she proves that determination and grit can bring you to places that you've never im...

Have you ever wondered who will take care of you as you age? It's not always pleasant to think about, but the reality is that we may outlive our partners and family members. The truth is that many of us will be solo agers. So what are the choices we need to start thinking about right now to prepare for that time? Dr. Mary L. Flett is the Executive Director of the Center for Aging & Values and foun...

Carrie Luteran is a professional organizer. She talks to us about the importance of having a place for all of your important papers and instructions for when you "kick the bucket". It's an easy task to put off. Who wants to be reminded of their own mortality? But it's the loving thing to do for the person who is going to be in charge of dealing with your stuff when you are no longer here. It may s...

Jane Adams, Ph. D., is a social psychologist who is an expert on family estrangement. Her book "When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us" gets to the heart of the dilemma of having an adult child who has significant problems in life. Her work has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show and PBS. FInd out about Jane at JaneAdams.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for...

"Duty Free" is a documentary about a son who witnesses his mom get pushed out of her job due only to her age. As a filmmaker, he uses the opportunity to document not only her struggle, but the bucket list adventure he takes her on to reclaim her life. As she struggles to find work, he documents some of the painful realities from her past and the economic insecurity soon to shape not only her futur...

Deborah Voll has been an Airbnb "super host" for nine years. She's the author of the book "The Tell-All Guide To Airbnb Hosting, Tips, and Tricks for Successful Hosting". Deborah shares some of the lessons she has learned about herself, and tips for you to not only be a successful host but a great guest. Check out her website: DeborahVoll.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovat...

Megan Weaver is a senior pet expert focused on improving the quality of life of our older dogs and cats. After running her own Canine Rehabilitation Department, Megan understands the struggles that older animals face and has created solutions and strategies to help pet owners care for their beloved pets throughout their senior journey. Megan is committed to educating pet owners about how to combin...

Dami Roelse was born and raised in Holland and has traveled the world extensively, lived on different continents and studied with different spiritual teachers. Dami has learned to use her travel as an inspiration for living. Her memoir "Fly Free, a Memoir About Love, Loss and Walking the Path" takes the reader to a remote destination in Ladakh on the border with China and is sprinkled with flashba...

Jennifer Sobel is the creator of The Belly Dance Solution, a unique program that helps women strengthen their pelvic floor with belly dance, and Feminine Fire, a comprehensive program to learn belly dance online. Jennifer takes a holistic approach to teaching belly dance that integrates her experience as an acupuncturist and a personal trainer to create programs that help women heal in body, mind...

Pam Varkony has worked on four continents as a writer and advocate covering topics from business ethics to the status of women in the developing world. She has won numerous awards and recognition for her writing and humanitarian work and has twice traveled to Afghanistan. However, the recent political events there brought all of her other projects to a halt as she focused on chronicling the storie...

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist who has appeared on NPR, PBS World, PRI, CNN, BBC and other international networks. She was formerly a host at National Public Radio, anchoring shows including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. I talk with her about her new book "Speaking of Race". Find out more at CelesteHeadlee.com. Check out https://copeno...

Grace Bonney is the founder of "Design*Sponge", a daily website dedicated to the creative community, which reached nearly 2 million readers per day for 15 years. She has been called a "Martha Stewart for Millennials" by the "New York Times" and has been featured on "Good Morning America", "The Martha Stewart Show", "The Chew", "American Public Radio", and more. Her new book, "Collective Wisdom", p...

Susan Willson is a Certified Nurse Midwife who has spent the last 20 years working exclusively with women in the menopausal transition. Her philosophy is that menopause is not a condition to pathologize or dread; rather it is a natural, vibrant and powerful phase of our lives. Her book, coming out in February, "Making Sense of Menopause" explores the misconceptions we have absorbed as women, from...

Katharine Esty is a best-selling author, practicing psychotherapist and an activist for aging well. She's on a mission to dispel myths about old age and to end ageism, which limits and undermines the most experienced among us. Her recent book, "Eightysomethings - A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness" looks at the last phase of life and how we can make the m...

Marya Hornbacher is an award-winning journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of five books. Her book "Madness" is "an intense, beautifully written" book about the difficulties, and promise, of living with mental illness. It has been called "the most visceral, important book on mental illness to be published in years." Her book "Sane: Mental Illness, Addiction, and the Twelve Steps" is...

Ida Abbott is a successful attorney whose current practice focuses on mentoring, sponsorship and retirement. The Wall Street Journal selected her most recent book, "Retirement by Design", as one of the 6 best books of 2020 on retirement and aging. The new and innovative, self-coaching approach of "Retirement by Design" helps you spearhead and navigate a major next step in life. Find out more at Id...

Are you living your life in a business-as-usual manner but somehow hoping for better results? What if you could make doable changes that increase your level of energy to actively engage with the world, avoid chronic conditions, and achieve peace of mind? Alan Carpenter's book, "Choose Better, Live Better – Nine Healthy Choices that Nurture Body, Mind and Spirit", is a great guide to doing just tha...

Emily Harman is trailblazer, and part of the sixth class of women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. Recognized as a role model, she served as a Company Officer and Leadership Instructor in the U.S. Naval Academy. But somehow she got lost along the way. The responsibilities of being a career woman and mother drowned out any dreams she may have had about the future she really wanted. Eventual...

Laura Davis's new memoir, "The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story" is the riveting story of her embattled relationship with her mother Temme, their determination to love one another, and the dramatic and surprising collision course they ended up on at the end of Temme's life. For the millions of readers of Laura's first book, "The Burning Light of Two Stars" is both prequel and se...

Dominic Campbell is the co-founder of "Creative Aging International" using celebration as a strategy for transformational change around the world. Pandemic initiatives include "Ageing Voices" connecting across community, healthcare and civic agencies to reduce isolation and facilitate "un-lockdown", and a nationwide localized arts program for Irish Hospice Foundation to process grief and loss thro...

Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, which began when she was a graduate student and wanted to help herself through a dark period of her own life. Her new book "Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive" explains the different kinds of self-compassion and how understanding these can be life changing for women. Fi...