Submitted by Carleton-Willard Village
In the summer of 2012, journalist Nancy Shohet West asked the residents of Carleton-Willard Village, “What was the most formative event of your life? What experience, circumstance or situation do you credit for making you the person you are today?”
Forty-seven men and women, ranging in age from 71 to 97, responded, each in a different way. There were stories of military service, immigration, careers, college years, marriages, tragedies, moments of joy and times of hardship.
Topics range far and wide. For example:
- A mother helps her three young sons cope after the suicide of their father
- An English schoolboy, encouraged by a grade school teacher, becomes the first in his class to go to college – and joins the Royal Air Force
- A middle-aged woman makes a difficult choice when her husband compels her to decide whether to stay in their marriage or pursue her career goals
- A grandmother looks at four generations of her family and how each confronted the issue of racism
- A business innovator analyzes his lifelong penchant for risk-taking
- A young German man helps with a Schindler-type operation during World War II, smuggling Jews to safety in Berlin
- A man contemplates the powerful influence his boyhood experiences at camp held over the decisions made in his adult life
- A woman traces the success of her career to the loving upbringing she received from her grandparents
- A minister in middle age seeks a transfer to Africa and leads a cathedral in Zambia
- After decades of working as a secretary, a gardening hobbyist moves to Carleton-Willard and becomes a leader
- Hearing of Lindbergh’s crossing of the Atlantic inspires a lifelong passion for aviation in a New England farmboy
- A close reading of “Silent Spring” engenders a personal crusade
But each story has one common element: they all resonate with the profound insight that comes from years of living, learning, and developing a unique understanding of the world.
About the editor, Nancy Shohet West
Nancy Shohet West is a freelance journalist in the Boston area. A frequent contributor to the Boston Globe and author of the memoir “The Mother-Son Running Streak Club,” she has helped several people write and publish their own memoirs. Find out more about her work at www.NancyShohetWest.com.
About Carleton-Willard Village
Carleton-Willard Village is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community located in Bedford, Massachusetts. Established in 1982, it offers a complete range of services from apartments and cluster homes to assistance in living, skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, and support for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Carleton-Willard Village was the first community in Massachusetts to become accredited in 1988, and is a teaching affiliate of the Boston University School of Medicine.
The Experience of Our Years (ISBN: 978-1480069589) is available through amazon.com.
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