-
Annotated by:
- Squier, Harriet
- Date of entry: Oct-30-1998
Summary
Mrs. Seaver writes about what it is like living in a nursing home. She writes cogently about the attitudes and behavior of staff, loneliness, lack of privacy, and her day to day experiences as a disabled 84 year old nursing home resident. The contrast between her former life and still-evident wit and intellect, and the way she is treated and diminished in her current environment is profound.
Primary Source
Newsweek Magazine: June 27, 1994, p. 11
Page Count
1
Commentary
This is a moving personal essay that never fails to engage even the most cynical student, in large part because of the harsh realness of the perspective. This essay was found by Mrs. Seaver's son after her death and published in Newsweek. This fact prompts students to go beyond the essay and conjecture about the son's reaction to the essay, and the motivations on the part of the author and her family to come to the decision about nursing home placement in the first place.