Age, Ability, Caste
Content Recommendations (books/movies)
I’ve reworked this piece a lot. For now I’m leaving the original in a draft offline till I figure out what I want to say, and how. Here’s a snippet of other works that may be of interest to you!
Being Mortal
Instead of attempting to say, perfectly, what I’m thinking… I’m reading. Reading! A book was recommended to me by a colleague called “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is an American Surgeon who writes about aging, ability, dying, Healthcare — subjects close to my heart and front-of-mind much of the time. He writes about them so beautifully.
The book didn’t just sit on my to-be-read pile like so many others. I’m into the preface and first chapter, and I’m floored. I want to write and talk and share about the topics of our aging population, our dynamic abilities to move and care for ourselves, the disparities in care across the country, and how the conversation around these topics needs to shift.
And instead of trying to describe my beliefs or defining problems perfectly, I’m instead strongly suggesting that you read, listen, or watch what Dr. Gawande presents about “Being Mortal”.
It’s available in print, audiobook, eBook, and Frontline documentary.
Caste
Additionally, I saw a movie recently that left me speechless. The movie, Origin, is based on the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson.
The book was recommended to me sometime last year, and has sat on my to-be-read pile for a while. Ms. Wilkerson shines a light on a very nuanced problem that we over-simplify as “racism” in the US. She asks questions about whether other confounding variables might better describe the oppression and segregation of certain groups of people. Them.
I heard about “Origin” coincidentally (thanks social media).
If I didn’t follow Nick Offerman on instagram, I have a feeling I wouldn’t know this movie existed. If I saw the name on a marquee, I’d have no idea what it’s about. I get the sense that it’s underpublicized. An independent film? It hadn’t even been out a month and was playing in the smallest, emptiest theater in the largest movie complex around. I don’t know. Feels sus. Regardless, happenstance brought me to the theater, and I left changed.
Please go see the movie “Origin”, read the book “Caste”, and let’s have a conversation. Or do so with someone you love.
Because in all of this is an essential conversation around our abilities, our need for help, and the tsunami of care needs and disparities offshore.
Maybe with our brains similarly seasoned, we can think our way out of this.
Maybe we can see a normal ebb and flow of the tides, instead of the catastrophe I envision if we continue this path we’re on.
On this sunshiney February day, we get to make a choice. Choices about how we fill our minds and spend our time. I choose this. I choose light. I choose to learn. I choose hope.
Make good choices.
Take good care.
And just be nice.
Love,
Jessie
PS:
Here’s a song for the road: A Passing Rain by The Beths —