We're just putting the finishing touches on my next book, The Perfect Home for a Long Life, scheduled for release next spring. This one looks at creative housing options for aging boomers and seniors. The book explores what we'll need from our home as we age in order to support a life of quality and fulfillment. The focus is on practical housing solutions and replicable ideas, with insights into the benefits and challenges of each option.

Next month I'll have the pleasure of speaking about You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready? as part of the Speak Up campaign and the importance of advance care planning. This national campaign stresses the importance of “speaking up” to ensure that our family and friends know our wishes in the event we are not able to speak for ourselves, and provides tools and terminology to make this easier.

Mount Sinai Hospital will be hosting its annual day-long Geriatrics Institute in Toronto on June 28. This year the theme is Through the Looking Glass: An Older Patient’s Experience Across the Continuum of Care. Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Geriatrics, is the event organizer and explains the purpose of the Institute. "This is a day where we and our partners can offer a day of education that seeks to help all of us do better at delivering a better patient experience for our older patients. The fact that our 250 seats filled up in no time speaks to the growing value of this day to health and social care professionals and advocates. We are also proud of the fact that we have been able to continue our tradition of offering this educational event for free through the generosity of our donors and sponsors."

On June 8, I'll be speaking in Ottawa at 60 plus and going strong: Wellness 101, an event organized by Bayshore Home Health in honour of the graduates of their health promotion program. Jennifer May, Bayshore's Community Relations Manager, estimates there may be 150 people in attendance. The event runs from 9 am - 1 pm and the speakers include Kevin Willis of the Canadian Stroke Network.

If we can measure successful parenting by the amount of thought put into raising teens, then the young people of Central Technical School are in good hands. A few weeks ago, two dozen parents joined me, the Principal and the TDSB Superintendent of Schools to bat around ideas raised by Teens Gone Wired. Here are a few comments pulled from several hours of animated discussion that will give you a flavour of the depth and range of the dialogue.

Teens Gone Wired and You Could Live a Long Time both emphasize the power of art and creativity. In his book Five Minds for the Future, developmental psychologist Howard Gardner identified the creating mind as one of the cognitive abilities
that will be critical for success. “Because almost anything that can be formulated as rules will be done well by computers,” he says, “rewards will go to creators – those who have constructed a box but can think outside it.” Teens benefit in a myriad of ways from creative pursuits. They can expand their networks, make new friends and practice offline social skills. Artistic activities require discipline and focus which calm multi-tasking minds over-stimulated by incessant digital demands. The arts can open young minds to the realities of others and help develop the ethical mind and the respectful mind - two other capacities highlighted by Gardner.

There are some thought-provoking points of intersection between You Could Live a Long Time and Teens Gone Wired. Generativity is one overlap that I’ve been pondering. The psychologist Erik Erikson coined the term and, at age 87, had this to say.

It would be great fun if books included GPS locators so we could see the wonderful voyages they make. I’ve gotten a sense of the journeys from the messages I’ve received from people reading You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready? in far flung places.

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at the Literary Luncheon of The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto about You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready? The Club was founded over a century ago for people who love the arts and provides a strong emotional circle for many of its members. Events range from musical/dramatic productions and art exhibitions to improv and alternative performances. Good conversation and camaraderie are long-standing club traditions, as was clearly evident from the discussion after my talk. Here are a few snippets from the thought-provoking exchange of ideas. One man told us about the striking quality that had helped his mother age well: her genuine curiosity about life and other people. He finds it frustrating to watch her now as she faces increasing isolation with a mind that remains active and a body that is failing. A woman told us about her group of some two dozen friends who started out 20 years ago meeting regularly for Scottish country dancing. When they realized they “couldn’t keep the dancing up forever”, they switched their focus to theatrical outings - first in the evenings and now at the matinees. Because the group has been adjusting their focus as they age, they’re still going strong. A former widower told us his story. He and his wife had retired to Prince Edward County but after 10 years enjoying life together there, she had died. His friends invited him on a cruise and, among the fellow passengers, he met his new love. His sweetheart explained that her life included The Arts and Letters Club and they were a package deal. By accepting the challenge he says he was doubly blessed. He found both his new partner and the Club and they rest in his affections – in that order.

Thank you to the dozens and dozens of book sellers who welcomed me as I toured the country launching Teens Gone Wired: Are You Ready? At the book launches, you have come out in the evenings, in rain or shine, to sell books enthusiastically. At my store visits, you have been unfailingly courteous and welcoming when I’ve interrupted your day with my dog and pony show complete with buttons, cookies and even a contest. You are hosts in salons of delights, mind readers deciphering customer wants from slim clues, matchmakers trying for that perfect marriage between writer and reader. Here are photos of a few of you in action. May you continue to love what you do.

‘Despite an extreme weather warning, a full and enthusiastic house turned out to support Laing House and launch "Teens Gone Wired" in Halifax last Wednesday. Laing House is a remarkably successful peer-support organization for youth with mental illness that I profiled in the book. Since their founding a short ten years ago, they have proven the value of their youth-driven, community-based approach and gained a committed throng of supporters. Our evening was graced by musical performances from several Laing House members: violin selections by Gwen and Erin and an original guitar composition from Chris. In consummate Halifax style the plates of scrumptious brownies were whipped up in a baking bee, the space was donated by Leonard Preyra - MLA for Halifax Citadel-Sable Islands, and the Laing House community turned out in numbers to show their support. The event was held at the home of the National Council of Women, founded in 1894 to improve the lives of women and children. What a perfect location for the launch and what a great evening.

What a joy it is to hang out with people who love what they do and want to share their enthusiasm. On Oct 13th we launched “Teens Gone Wired: Are You Ready?” with the amazing staff and inspiring young people of the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. Anic and Apiew are teenagers and club participants and they used the themes of the book to create original works for the launch. Anic sang a capella her own beautiful composition that urges teens to look beyond appearance to discover each person’s unique and original gifts. Apiew drew a series of portraits to reflect the range of emotions that teens experience when confronted with life’s challenges. I’ll have a wonderful opportunity to dialogue with Anic, Apiew and their friends as they continue to explore the book’s ideas with Teresa, their senior youth worker. For 88 years, the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa has been providing supportive and stimulating programs for 4,500 young people per year. It is an awesome organization and it was a privilege to launch the book with them. Check out the photos here.

At last night's Vancouver launch of Teens Gone Wired: Are You Ready? we were treated to a preview of Green Thumb Theatre's latest production OUT IN THE OPEN. This play is further proof, if there is anyone left who needs convincing, that theatre is a powerful way to reach young people and nobody does it better, play after play, than Green Thumb. Teens have a built in Geiger counter for hypocrisy and can smell a false note of dialogue or a clichéd plot a mile off. Green Thumb's plays excel because they're the real deal. You're eavesdropping on awkward, painful moments in teen lives. By offering those moments up for dissection they force us to stare at our own bad behaviour. Bravo to Artistic Director, Patrick MacDonald and the Green Thumb team. The world needs more of them.

Calgarians proved once again that they know how to role out the red carpet. The Kerby Centre orchestrated two terrific events on Friday, Sept. 30 featuring “You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready?” In the afternoon about 80 people participated at the Centre in an animated discussion about aging well. That evening, the honey-toned Petroleum Club with its art-covered walls was the site for a sparkling event that combined the smooth sounds of the Shaken Not Stirred Jazz Band with fine food and lots of laughter. The full house was reluctant to bring the evening to a close.

On October 7 at the Vancouver launch of Teens Gone Wired: Are You Ready? we're privileged to be previewing a segment from Green Thumb Theatre?s new play OUT IN THE OPEN. The play by Dave Deveau explores homophobia, friendship, social pressure, and navigating the complicated truths of teenage relationships. Since 1975, Green Thumb Theatre has been developing original Canadian plays for young audiences, challenging them to re-examine their beliefs and prejudices and to define their feelings and aspirations. My hero, the playwright Morris Panych, says Green Thumb is "less a theatre for young people and more a theatre for formative minds.”

This will be a remarkable evening.

About 100 of us who gathered on Wednesday evening to launch Teens Gone Wired: Are You Ready? were treated to an outstanding performance of beatboxing and voguing that had us clapping, stomping and cheering. Our photos will give you a sense of the show, but it’s the Youtube video that is in the works that will show you what blew our socks off. A huge thank you to Arts for Children and Youth who coordinated this amazing event for us, and to the performers who donated their time in support of AFCY. The internationally celebrated beat boxer, Balu, channelled an entire sound effects studio for the audience and the voguers, Sebastio, Andrenne, Matthew and Irvine nailed their performances, even the gravity defying “drops.” A night to remember.

Lynn Podgurny describes the Kerby Centre as the place to be in Calgary if you’re over 55. Lynn is Director of Operations and manages an impressive array of active living programs and preventive services to enhance the quality of life for older people. The Centre was founded in 1973 as an organization run by seniors, for seniors. The Board of Directors is comprised of seniors, assisted by fifty staff and over 400 volunteers. I am grateful to the Kerby Centre for hosting two presentations about You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready? on September 30. At 1:30 pm I’ll be speaking at the Kerby Centre in celebration of National Seniors Day, and that evening the Kerby Centre is hosting an evening at the Petroleum Club with appetizers and live jazz.

I’m always learning from Gerald Hodge. My first lessons were imbedded in his book The Geography of Aging: Preparing Communities for the Surge in Seniors. Gerald is the former director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University and his book lays out a detailed practical plan for designing “Senior-Smart” communities. After reading his book, I think this issue should be understood as a looming national disaster of the kind requiring an Emergency Measures Operation type response, and I would put him in charge.