Reader Submitted Stories

As the summer draws to a close it’s not uncommon to start feeling your energy level drop a bit.

No fear, though! You can re-vamp your energy level by eating a few key things at the right time!

There is a lot of advice out there about what to eat, but luckily I have weeded through the complicated and long-winded stuff, and found a great little blog post that offers simple advice.  

 Check it out here on the FitnessTown blog!

p.s. notice the post references our very own book The Good Mood Diet by expert Susan Kleiner!

Filed under: Books • Diet and Fitness

Despite the possibility of universal healthcare and the natural rise of the senior demographic, we are always looking for ways to lengthen our lives. The most recent solution seems to lie in the idea of simple caloric restriction. Many people are already aware that reducing one’s calorie intake by 30% postpones aging, and yet many people still lack the disciple to do it.

…Enter science!                                                    

In today’s New York Times Nicholas Wade wrote about how scientists have now found a way to eat less without really eating less. In other words, scientists are now testing a drug that allows people to eat their normal amount, but only absorb 70% of the calories. One of the drugs currently being explored is called Resveratrol. Discovered in 2003, Resveratrol can be found in grape skins and red wine. It is one kind of sirtuin activator, an artificial calorie restrictor. Laboratory tests on mice placed under this drug have been found to live 30% and 40% longer than their counterparts.

Tests on Resveratrol are ongoing, but many scientists are already optimistic. Among them is Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, who believes that sirtuin activating drugs would postpone diseases that come with aging, such as Parkinson’s, leading to healthier years down the road, and the possibility of a longer life.

If these developments continue to be successful, the results could be astronomical for baby boomers. Who knows—in twenty years’ time it might be possible for seniors to be leading life to the very fullest!

Filed under: Boomers • Diet and Fitness

Last month, coffee lovers rejoiced when studies came out indicating that a daily dose of caffeine may help cut down on the buildup of protein on the brain that causes Alzheimer’s. Now, devotees of crossword puzzles, card games, and other brain-tickling activities can be glad. Reuters reports that a new study by New York’s Albert Einsten College of Medicine followed 488 healthy people between the ages of 75 to 85 for five years, tracking their mental decline and their daily participation in six different activities: doing crossword puzzles, reading, writing, playing board or card games, playing music, and having group discussions. The researchers discovered that for each additional mentally stimulating activity that their subjects did on a daily basis, accelerated memory loss was delayed by approximately 2 months. Those who participated in 11 activities a week were able to stave off the point of no return (so to speak) for 1.29 years longer than those who only engaged in 4 activities a week.

Here are some great online resources (all free) that we recommend for exercising your brain:

Weekly puzzles from the NY Times Crossword’s archives

Online Sudoku puzzles (also from the NY Times)

MSN games online: Bridge, Hearts, Texas Hold’Em, TextTwist

Facebook’s Scrabble and Chess Applications

Orisinal’s series of beautifully animated online games

Starting a blog through LiveJournal, WordPress, or Blogger

Participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Checking out a book from the NEA’s The Big Read list

Reading the poem of the day at Poetry Daily

Following The Two-Way, NPR’s news blog

Reading about, or creating articles for, unusual locations at Atlas Obscura

Solving a Virtual Rubik’s Cube. (Need help? Check out this tutorial by one-time world record holder Leyan Lo)

Learning to play a new instrument by searching for video tutorials on YouTube

Filed under: Boomers • Diet and Fitness • Fun

I have spent a decade, off and on, meeting and dating online. I am one of those women who seems to make men very comfortable and so they have behaved and spoken, endlessly, without any concept of propriety or boundaries, as if they were in some sort of social dmz, safe from any censorship or outrage. I listened and watched and ended up with a funny, sad, curious, unpredictable, and even poignant collection of encounters with doctors, lawers, judges, artists, businessmen, and others, including 12 who had an uncanny connection with my past, and in those encounters, some perception of the past was significantly altered. Those who heard my stories were in disbelief and yet sure that no one could make up such events. I place no judgement on any of my experiences, even though sometimes it was hard to avoid. I see them as a fascinating journey into the very human and sensitive matters of the heart, a journey that, except for the internet, could never have been possible. The phenomena of internet dating has become overwhelmingly huge since I began, but to many it is still suspect with a mixed reputation. To those who have and are doing it, this story is theirs too, for those who haven’t, it will be a look into what must surely be at least a curiosity. My story is not meant to support or change anyone’s attitude in any way. We have it, we need it, and this is just what happened. And it’s all “g” rated.

–by Marian

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • Sex and Love

By Gary from Missouri
Internet Review of Books

It’s a tale well-told, but it’s short. Given that most of the pages are cartoon panels–that means only 20, 30, or maybe 40 words on a page–Henley cannot dig down hard, dig down, dig down into the mud, to find and then sustain, the emotional depth, the passion, the anger, the despair that ricochet off the pages of most memoirs. How short? I read The Shiniest Jewel in an hour, pausing to drink a cup of tea and eat a bowl of fruit and yogurt.

Was it enough? No. And yes.

No, because I’m a curious sort, a reader who is intrigued by nuance and referential writing and back story. For example, why adopt a Russian child? Are there not children in the USA who are adoptable? Why a boy and not a girl? Why not a mixed race or minority child languishing in foster care or an orphanage?

But yes, it was also enough because how else might I ask Marian Henley to tell the story? She is, after all, a gifted cartoonist, which means much of the way she sees the world comes out as the ink tracks along the page.

Read my full review at The Internet Review of Books.

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews

By Alea from Minnesota
Pop Culture Junkie

Marian has a serious boyfriend, that she isn’t ready to marry. She is about to turn 50 and decides she wants more than anything a child so she turns to adoption. We go along on her journey through disappointment and also happiness. At the same time she’s trying to adopt a child her father is slowly dying. She fears she will be out of the country during her father’s last days. This is a beautiful story of life and death and everything in between.

What a great story that is only complimented by the graphic novel format. Seeing the author’s work right there in front of your eyes instead of just reading about it is wonderful. Henley has a very simple illustration style, basically line drawings yet the emotion is there. A person has to be very brave to tell such a personal story such as this.

Like The Heartbreak Diet, The Shiniest Jewel would be a great place to start for someone hesitant about graphic novels. It’s a very approachable story!

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews

By Diana from Mississippi

When I got the book and saw how it was presented in the “comic strip” format I thought I wont be able to read this way. I also thought how can the book be in depth…sharing Marion’s feeling, frustrations and joys. Once I opened the book to read it I was hooked and the story came alive with the graphics. I was pleasantly surprised how I became swept away on her journey and was praying for a happy ending. I felt the sorrow she went through with her Dad and her frustrations during the adoption process.

Her “family love story” shined through and I was sad to have the book end.

Good Luck,Marion!

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews

By Dawn from Illinois
Devourer of Books

The Shiniest Jewel represents my very first experience with a graphic novel, although actually it is not a novel, but a graphic memoir. The graphic memoir seems really to be taking off, I have Persepolis in my teetering TBR pile, but I got to this first. I think this format can work really, really well for a memoir, particularly one like this that only spans a year or so.

I really enjoyed Henley’s story. I was under the impression that it was completely about her experience with foreign adoption at the age of 50, but it was really much more. The subtitle, A Family Love Story, is extremely fitting. The Shiniest Jewel deals with Henley’s relationship with her parents, particularly her ailing father, her marriage-phobic relationship with her boyfriend, and the emotional ups and downs of adoption. The illustrations are at times both poignant and hilarious, and the story itself was very moving.

This is something I would recommend to anyone, but particularly those who are contemplating or have gone through adoption, particularly foreign adoption.

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews

By Karin from Illinois

I’m not about to turn fifty, nor am I considering adoption (or motherhood, for that matter), nor am I familiar with Maxine, Marian Henley’s comic strip. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed her newest project–the graphic novel, The Shiniest Jewel. She writes (and draws) about adopting her son, William Igor, from Russia and all of the ensuing drama that she welcomed into her life as a result. Although Henley’s adoption application was approved, she was not able to adopt the first child she was promised, and during a subsequent interview with her agency she was told that she was not an ideal “family” for a young child as she was older, single, and worked full-time. Henley managed to traverse these disappointments and setbacks with grace (for the most part) as well as frustration, and her perseverance eventually brought William Igor into her life.

Marian Henley’s simplistic black and white drawings really lend themselves well to her story. Her self-portraits are spot on (check out her website for a comparison!) and she manages to convey a lot of emotion (as well as humor) with her well-chosen words and images. Henley’s story should resonate with a lot of people–regardless of whether or not they share her situation or experience–as it is primarily about welcoming love and life into one’s home and heart.

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews

By Trumillia from Missouri
Musings of a Mid Life Diva

Imagine my joy upon receiving the book and realizing that the entire story was an illustrated account of one woman’s journey to motherhood! How wonderful! I was enraptured with Marian’s story from page one and can say that I was unable to put it down and read the entire book at one sitting! I was sad to see it end, but can only hope that Marian will continue to document her journey with Baby William/Igor in illustrations. I will try to wait patiently for her “next installment”! Excellent work Marian!

Trumillia Lunnie-Thomas, BA, MA, Author of “Soul Powerful, Everyday Life Lessons for Uncovering and Recovering Your Greatness Within” and upcoming titles “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Mid Life” and “When Crazy’s Coming, Cross The Street - The Mid Life Misadventures of a Mid Life Diva”

Filed under: Reader Submitted Stories • THE SHINIEST JEWEL Advance Reviews