Michael Kinsley is a columnist at Vanity Fair, a contributor to The New Yorker, and the founder of Slate. He has served as the editor of The New Republic and Harper's, the managing editor of The Washington Monthly, and the American editor of The Economist. His latest book is Old Age: A Beginner's Guide.From Kinsley's Q&A with Kate Kellaway for the Guardian:
When you were diagnosed with Parkinson’s, you went into denial. Is denial underrated as a coping strategy?--Marshal Zeringue
In the early years, after a Parkinson’s diagnosis, there are very few symptoms and it was all about foreboding, so denial worked perfectly. I could convince everybody, including myself, there was no problem. Yet, as a journalist, I am in favour of ruthless revelation and, if you are writing about yourself, that means the opposite of denial.
Your book insists baby boomers face facts such as that, of 79 million of us, 28 million are expected to develop Alzheimer’s. But is there any point worrying about something we can’t control?
No… but when I gave up on denial, I went in the opposite direction. The main thing I wanted to achieve was to try to laugh through the tears. There are people who are much worse off than I am. In fact, some are...[read on]