I tend to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Oldster-adjacent content. Every other Friday I’ll pass some of it along to you in a Link Roundup like this one. If you like what you’re reading here, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
A tremendous amount of work goes into publishing Oldster—mine, and that of my contributors. Paid subscriptions keep Oldster going, and allow me to keep paying essayists and interviewers. Thanks to all who support my work here! 🙏
Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank, dies at 96 - The Associated Press via NPR.
Stella Soltowska, a fixture at Ray’s Candy Store since 1977, has died. - Stacie Joy at EV Grieve.
Belated happy birthday 90th wishes to baseball legend Sandy Koufax, whose birthday was December 30th. - Major League Baseball (This one’s for you, Uncle SAMUEL MASKET)
I’m so glad The Pitt Season 2 has launched. I loved Season 1.
Do you remember my November interview with actor/director Claudia Lonow about D(e)ad, the movie she made with her daughter, Izzy Roland? (And pretty much her entire family?) It’s available now for streaming on Dynasty, AppleTV, Amazon, and YouTube. I really enjoyed it.
My Family Fled Germany During the Holocaust. In 2025, I Became a Citizen. Would my ancestors have hated my decision? - Claudia Dreifus in Intelligencer/NYMag.
What I’ve learned over the years from Patti Smith about facing, and embracing, grief. - a beauty from Kera Bolonik at Recording Memories.
Lessons from Decades of Marriage - James Estrin, The New York Times/Style
It’s good to see that the GoFundMe campaign for the wife and children of Renee Nicole Good—the woman senselessly killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis on January 7th—has (as of this writing) reached over $1 million.
On Renée Nicole Good’s prize-winning poem. - Jonny Diamond in LitHub.
“Aging is a bitter pill to swallow for anyone – but perhaps runners feel it more keenly than our less active friends and family.” - Sam Pyrah writes “The Morning Run.”
“It took my mother getting Alzheimer’s for my siblings and me to learn the truth about our family and childhood.” - Brett Paesel in NYTimes/Styles Modern Love.
I wrote yesterday about liking being in my 60s, and it turns out Jodie Foster does, too.
Did you catch my Substack Live interview with Amanda Fortini about her NYTimes/T Magazine article, Is Gen X Actually the Greatest Generation?
“Of all the things I will worry about, I don’t want my grays and wrinkles to be one of them.” - at My Sweet Dumb Brain, a moving essay by Katie Hawkins-Gaar about aging and loss and grief.
I’ve just preordered Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by husband-and-wife authors Neal Allen and Anne Lamott, out in March.
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew - Paula Span in The New York Times.
Want to study personal essay writing with me in Vermont in April? There are only 4 spots left in my workshop so sign up before they’re gone…
How about you? Got any recs? Books? Shows? Movies? Music? Plays? Podcasts? Art shows? Places to travel to? Restaurants? What’s good?
Well, I guess I’ve gone back in the direction of maximalist link roundups. It’s just how my brain works.
I hope this is enough Oldster-adjacent content to keep us all mentally occupied through the weekend. If you like what you’re reading here, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
Thanks as always for reading, for commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support! I absolutely couldn’t keep Oldster going without you. 🙏 💝 -Sari
Ok. Perhaps “runners feel aging more keenly” - but I throw in my vote for knitters. Hell on the knuckles. Actually I vote for oyster shuckers in New Orleans. Or nursing assistants in assisted living facilities. Or cooks in grade school cafeterias. Or aging waitresses taking care of their live-in mothers. Or prisoners with security detail supervision while they are picking up garbage flung from vehicles on highways during summer heat. Running is optional. For many oldsters working isn’t. Aging ain’t particularly comfortable for most of us. But youth wasn’t particularly comfortable either. Letting go can be hell. It can also be heaven. Perspective matters. -Dwight Lee Wolter.
Thanks so much for featuring my piece The Evening Run on the sorrow of not being able to outrun ageing! I am honoured to be in such great company.