Here is my review of a wonderful book, Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives
If you have an aging parent or are simply interested in learning more about the aging process, I highly recommend this book. It is a moving and personal account by the scientist who led an amazing longitudinal study of a group of nuns. This study provides new insight into “aging gracefully” and also the things a person can do to protect against Alzheimers.
The subjects were nuns in an order of School Sisters of Notre Dame. Detailed records were archived for each nun, including high school/college transcripts, medical records and one of the richest sources, a handwritten autobiography by each nun as she entered the order.
As I read the book, I felt as though I was walking alongside the author, David Snowdon, and getting to know each and every nun. It was a privilege to share David’s insight into this special community of women (many of whom live past the age of 100). When David finally decided to focus his research on Alzheimer’s, he struggled with asking the nuns to sign a release form for their brains to be donated to Alzheimer research (after death). He was astonished when Sister Rita Schwalbe spoke up and said, “As sisters, we made the hard choice not to have children. Through brain donation, we can help unravel the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and give the gift of life in a new way to future generations.”
And, so it was in that spirit, that the nuns agreed to physical and mental testing through their lifetimes to contribute to this study. Although Alzheimers is still a mystery in many ways, this study helped illuminate several correlations. Depression and stroke puts a person at risk. High density ideas/complex sentences found in those handwritten autobiographies seemed to diminish risk. Faith and community, purposeful work and service, healthy eating, exercise all seemed to be positive factors in prevention.
50% of persons over 90 years old will get Alzheimers. So, it will likely impact a member of your family or friend. Reading this book is not only a joy in getting insight into this wonderful community of nuns but also in highlighting the risk factors and research being done around the disease of Alzheimer’s.
