Month: April 2026

How Old Were They? Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was 41 when he won the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature, the youngest writer to do so. The British journalist, novelist, poet, and short story writer was also the first English-language author to receive the award. Cited for “the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas, and remarkable talent for narration,” Kipling is best known for his novel The Jungle Book and poem “If —,” a guide to becoming a virtuous and resilient individual by adopting the Victorian virtues of patience, self-control, integrity, and perseverance. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Kipling was the youngest & first English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Granny D

Doris Haddock (a.k.a. Granny D) age 89 in 1999 when began walking 3,200 miles from Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to promote campaign finance reform. She covered 10 miles a day, skiing when necessary, and relied on the kindness of strangers for housing and meals over the 14 months her journey took. At 94, Granny D unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, one of the oldest candidates to pursue a national office. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

This nonagenarian walked cross-country in favor of campaign finance reform

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was 20 when he became king of Macedonia in 336 BCE. By 30, he’d conquered much of the known world, creating an empire from Greece to northwestern India. Undefeated in battle, he is considered one of history’s greatest military commanders. He founded more than twenty cities and spread of Greek culture, leading to its dominance. Alexander died at 32 of unknown causes, likely from an infectious disease but possibly poisoning. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Alexander the Great conquered the world by age 30

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Henry Puyi

Henry Puyi was 2 years old when he became the last emperor of China, reigning as the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. During this tumultuous time, imperial rule was replaced by the Republic. Puyi abdicated at age 6, was briefly restored to power by a warlord, and became the puppet emperor of a Japanese-controlled state in WWII. Following the war, he was imprisoned by the Communist government, but was later pardoned and lived a quiet life as a gardener in Beijing until his death at age 61. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

After briefly becoming China’s last emperor at age 2, Henry Puji lived his final years as a gardener

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

What I’m Reading: Some Bright Nowhere

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer (Rated 5) – Dying’s Partners. Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer is an unflinching novel that pointedly asks: How do we care for a loved one who is dying? Who in this world do we want with us when we leave it? Eliot wants to continue caring for his wife Claire, as he has for the decade since her cancer diagnosis. Now that she is terminal, Claire tells him she wants her two best friends to take on that role instead. Demoted to the status of visitor, Eliot must confront his feelings of rejection and inadequacy, while simultaneously handling his grief. Some Bright Nowhere then expands into a sensitive treatise on marriage — the strong bond between husband and wife — and friendship — the fierce attachment between women. How do you navigate parallel tracks of love that threaten to veer into a competition? Although the book is written from Eliot’s POV, Packer also captures the perspectives of Claire, the couple’s grown children, and Claire’s lifelong friend Holly. In perceptive vignettes, readers also glimpse the contrasting dynamics of male friendship. As a certified end-of-life doula, I was impressed by Packer’s accurate portrait of the “work” of dying. And as a novelist (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I valued her ability to delve into the minds and hearts of her struggling characters. Kudos to Packer, who has written a bright and illuminating book about a dark and taboo subject.

Before death do them part

Why writers read: “Books are people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E. B. White

The Avocet publishes poem “Carl and Carla”

My poem “Carl and Carla,” about the cardinal couple who winter over in the burning bush outside my dining room window, was published in The Weekly Avocet (April 5, 2026, #696). The Avocet, a poetry nature journal, emails a weekly PDF and prints four seasonal issues a year. The poem, an intersection of my writing and end-of-life doula work, ponders leaving “advanced care directives” not only for ourselves, but also “nature directives” for the plants and animals in our environment. Read more in POEMS.

Northern Cardinals, non-migratory songbirds, are monogamous

Why writers write: “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” – Albert Camus