Revisiting 'The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia'

Join Julia Louis-Dreyfus in an enthralling episode of her podcast, "Wiser Than Me." In an enlightening dialogue with fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, they challenge the traditional view of fashion, exploring how it encompasses not just clothing but acts as a medium that reflects and bolsters personalities. The pair reflect on aging, with Diane proposing a refreshing perspective that sees age as evidence of life's experiences. A deeper dive into societal judgments of appearance and plastic surgeries makes way for the acceptance of individual choices, with Diane infusing her belief for natural appearances reflecting life's journey.

Moving out of the personal realm into the professional, the episode delves deep into Diane's awe-inspiring career in fashion along with anecdotes from Julia's mother, Judith Bowles. The audience get an intimate window into the life of the fashion legend, unveiling her journey from idea to reality, her visionary plans for a Venice-based intellectual hub, and the conception of her emblematic wrap dress. The podcast roundly emphasizes Diane's and Julia's resilient mindsets shaped by life's adversities, making it a truly influential and empowering episode.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a memoir by psychotherapist and author Lori Gottlieb. She discusses a difficult time in her life following a sudden breakup with her long-term boyfriend. The incident upset her so badly that it drove her to seek therapy herself.

This book is the story of Lori’s time in therapy, interwoven with stories about Lori’s own patients. Though each of their situations is different, their shared struggles and how they overcome them reflect common experiences that all people share—in fact, Lori says that the reason therapists can be effective is precisely because they have those same struggles. As Lori and her patients work together toward health and understanding, they reflect on their pasts—how they got to be where they are now—and the futures they’d like to have.

All the alarming statistics about child abuse and neglect—millions of cases reported each year, killing nearly five children each day—don’t begin to illustrate how victims experience abuse. In A Child Called 'It', author Dave Pelzer provides a rare and grisly glimpse into his experience of severe physical and psychological abuse at his mother’s hands.

In one of the worst child abuse cases reported in California’s history at the time, Pelzer was starved, burned on the stove, regularly locked in the bathroom with a noxious mixture of ammonia and Clorox, and forbidden from speaking to or looking at any of his family members. Through it all, Pelzer maintained an indomitable will to survive that’s a testament to the strength of the human spirit even under the bleakest circumstances.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a memoir by psychotherapist and author Lori Gottlieb. She discusses a difficult time in her life following a sudden breakup with her long-term boyfriend. The incident upset her so badly that it drove her to seek therapy herself.

This book is the story of Lori’s time in therapy, interwoven with stories about Lori’s own patients. Though each of their situations is different, their shared struggles and how they overcome them reflect common experiences that all people share—in fact, Lori says that the reason therapists can be effective is precisely because they have those same struggles. As Lori and her patients work together toward health and understanding, they reflect on their pasts—how they got to be where they are now—and the futures they’d like to have.

Mental health disorders affect millions of people and often lead to the tragic loss of life through suicide. The pain and suffering that accompany mental illness are difficult for those unafflicted to understand. Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist living with manic-depressive disorder, has attempted to bring awareness to those experiences in her memoir. By divulging the violent, frenzied, and dangerous aspects of her disease, Jamison hopes to create more understanding about mental illness and more empathy for those who struggle to exist in the normal world.

Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming delivers candid reflections on the life of the first African-American first lady. Offering a window into her personal evolution, Michelle details how ambition, hard work, and embracing her authentic story helped her journey from her family’s Chicago working-class neighborhood to a 47th-floor law office, then to the White House and beyond.

Becoming provides insights into Michelle’s self-determination: She pushed herself to excel in Ivy League classrooms and achieve a prestigious career by age 26, then mustered the courage to swerve off that path in search of greater fulfillment. It details her relationship with Barack—a love story of two opposites—and their challenging quest to navigate family and political life. Through it all, we witness a woman who perpetually strives to become a better version of herself.

Predatory “professional guardians” are taking over the guardianship of the elderly or impaired and bleeding them dry of their assets.

Delve into the riveting narrative presented on 'The Daily' by Rachel Corbett and Samantha Desz, uncovering the intricate ties and controversies that the Wildenstein family wrestled with through their involvement in the art world. Starting with humble beginnings, the podcast reveals how the Wildensteins, led by Nathan, transitioned from insignificant to influential, and how their shrewd strategies, coupled with discretion, gave them an enigmatic reputation, amplifying their influence even more.

As Corbett and Desz delve deeper, the podcast reaches a crucial turning point, unmasking the legal and financial strife surrounding the Wildenstein dynasty. High-stake inheritance wars, complex and undisclosed offshore wealth, legal battles, and personal sacrifices all culminate leading to the family's dramatic plunge from grace. From being driven to sell off high-value properties to downsizing, the family's downfall offers a compelling insight into the fall from prominence, leaving listeners fascinated at every turn.

In Being Mortal, surgeon Atul Gawande considers our experience of aging and dying in the 21st century. In his view, the modern approach to these stages of life undermines our ability to live well up to the end—to do better, we need to accept death as a natural part of the human experience and prioritize the well-being of the dying.

Critics praised Being Mortal and considered it one of the best books of 2014. It’s since been adapted into a TV documentary and a feature film.

We’ve divided our guide into two main sections to explore Gawande’s theme. The first section examines some of the ways we approach aging and death in our modern era, and the second explores Gawande’s ideas about how we might improve our experience of these profoundly important aspects of life.

In our commentary, we’ve contextualized Gawande’s ideas by citing relevant statistics about end-of-life care in the modern healthcare system and by exploring psychological insights on how we experience our mortality.

Predatory “professional guardians” are taking over the guardianship of the elderly or impaired and bleeding them dry of their assets.