Contributor Listing for A FORCE OUTSIDE MYSELF:
CITIZENS OVER 60 SPEAK
This is in alphabetical order by contributors’ last names.
Click on names to go directly to their essay.
If you would like to send a message to one of our contributors,
email aforce@mcsweeneys.net and we will pass it along to them.
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FAMILY AT GREAT DISTANCE
Brad Anderson
Born 1950
Moorhead, MN
FEAR AND LOATHING AT THE GROCERY STORE
JoAnn Balingit
Newark, DE
Born in 1955
HOLD ON THERE, SPARKY
Jan Bartelli
Rensselaer County, NY
Born in 1955
WATER IN FRONT AND HILLS BEHIND
Barbara Bedway
Nyack, NY
Born in 1951
WHO WILL LOOK BEYOND THE AGE ON OUR CHART?
WHO WILL BE OUR VOICE?
Cathy Beres
Evanston, Illinois
Born in 1952
WE KIDS WORK IN CLUSTERS
Bindy Bitterman
Chicago, IL
Born in 1931
MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW SHE HAS COVID-19.
SHE ONLY KNOWS SHE’S SAFE
Judy Bolton-Fasman
Boston, MA
Born in 1960
ZERO DARK RONALD AND THE BIKE RIDE TO NOWHERE
Bruce Bortin
Oakland, CA
Born in 1953
ONE MORE DAWN, ONE MORE DAY, ONE DAY MORE
Anne Buelteman
Santa Cruz, CA
Born in 1951
I MISS MY LITTLE PROBLEMS
Andrea Carlisle
Portland, OR
Born in 1944
OUR CHILDREN DO NOT EASILY FORGIVE
Lisa Carnochan
Bay Area, CA
Born in 1956
I’M TALKING TO YOU
Rachel Cline
Brooklyn, NY
born 1957
WHAT DAY IS IT TODAY?
Esther Cohen
New York City
Born in 1947
LET OUR FORBEARS REST WITH THEIR DREAM
Stephanie Cotsirilos
Portland, ME
Born 1947
THAT ODD, UNNERVING SENSE
Mitchell Danielson
Sausalito, CA
Born in 1953
CONVERSATION WITH MY 94-YEAR-OLD FATHER
Carol Davis
New York, NY
Born 1957
AGE SPOTS
Laurie Ann Doyle
Berkeley, CA
Born in 1951
IT IS THE YOUNG WHO MUST FACE THIS PANDEMIC
Adrienne Drake, MD
Mission Viejo, CA
Born in1948
A PROPER APOCALYPSE
Geoffrey Dutton
Belmont, MA
Born 1944
NOW, BECAUSE OF MY AGE
Sherry Drobner
El Cerrito, CA
Born in 1955
WHO WANTS AN ARRANGED COHABITATION AT AGE 85?
Katharine Esty
Concord, MA
Born in 1934
EVER WISH THE WORLD WOULD STOP
SO YOU COULD CATCH UP?
Steve Farmilant
Chicago, Illinois
Born in 1956
HAVE WE MET?
Rita Jane Gabbett
Born 1956
Chicago, IL
WHO NEEDS GRANDPARENTS?
Bethanie Gorny
Born 1945
Boynton Beach, FL
KILL GRANNY
Diane Gottlieb
New Hyde Park, NY
Born in 1960
IN THE HALL CLOSET, RIGHT NEXT TO MY COAT
“Lynne Griffin:https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-force-outside-myself-citizens-over-60-speak#Griffin
Scituate, MA
Born in 1960
THEY RISE LIKE GHOSTS
Margaret Jan Feike
Columbus, OH
Born 1960
AND THE WALKING MAN WALKS…
Jim Ferry
Parker, CO
Born in 1954
THE DEATH OF EVERYTHING I EVER LOVED ABOUT THE USA
Ginny Fite
Harpers Ferry, WV
Born in 1945
QUARANTINE THE CHIEF
Lisa K. Friedman
Washington, D.C.
Born in 1960
AS CAREFUL AS I CAN BE
Teresa Friend
San Leandro, CA
Born in 1957
STILL DARK AS WE DRIVE
Lesley Frost
Bethesda, MD
Born in 1943
I CAN’T ANSWER CUOMO’S CALL
Nina Gaby
Brookfield, VT
A month shy of 70 years old
THE EYES OF MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED
Jane Ganahl
Bay Area
Born 1952
UPPER WEST SIDE
OLD-LADY-WITH-BREAST-CANCER STYLE
Stephanie Gangi
New York City, NY
Born in 1955
A JOLT TO THE COLLECTIVE PSYCHE
Constance Hale
Oakland, CA
Born in 1957
A TRIP TO THE POST OFFICE
Jeanne Hall
Nashville, TN
Born in 1944
WHO DESERVES TO LIVE MY LIFE?
Mick Harris
Puyallup, WA
Born in 1954
SEQUESTERED SEPTUAGENARIAN CELEBRATION
Lora M. Hein
Edmonds, WA
Born in 1950
SUDDENLY I AM ELDERLY
Vicky Henry
Ann Arbor, MI
Born 1947
STILL RUSHING LIKE SPRING FLOODS
Thomas J. Hubschman
Brooklyn, NY
Born in 1941
BECOMING A GRANDMOTHER DURING THE PANDEMIC
Susan Ito
Oakland, CA
Born in 1959
MEMORIES IN QUARANTINE
Edward Iwata
Silicon Valley
Born 1957
A FORCE OUTSIDE MYSELF
Linda Jackson
Cody, WY
Born in 1941
A VACCINE FOR PANDEMICS
AND OTHER GLOBAL PERILS
Mary Kay Jennings
Houston, TX
Born in 1944
TAKING STOCK
Sue Kelman
Waltham, MA
Born in 1947
IT FALLS INTO PLACE NICELY
Nancy Davidoff Kelton
New York, NY
Born in 1947
GRACE AND GOOD HUMOR:
MY SON, WITH DISABILITIES,
CLEANS WHEELCHAIRS AT THE NIH
Eugenia Kim
Washington, DC
Born 1952
BALANCING, BUT BARELY
Sara Kirschenbaum
Portland, OR
Born in 1959
DO NOT DENY WHAT YOU FEEL
Chris Kreussling
Flatbush, NYC
Born in 1958
THE END OF VANITY
Lynn Lauber
Nyack, NY
Born in 1952
LATE BLOOMER
Judah Leblang
Medford, MA
Born in 1957
I ORDERED A REUBEN AND MY HUSBAND GAVE ME THE HAIRY EYEBALL
Louisa Levine
Los Angeles, CA
Born in 1958
NOT QUITE ALONE
Linda Loomis
Liverpool, NY
Born in 1943
NOT A GOOD TIME FOR HYPOCHONDRIACS
Paul Lyons
Philadelphia, PA
Born in 1960
CLIFF JUMPING
Gerald McCarthy
Nyack, NY
Born 1947
I GUESS I’M WILLING TO FILL MY ROLE AS THE TARGET CLASS FOR SOCIETAL CONCERN
Kelly McDonald
Provo, UT
Born in 1952
THE REVIVAL OF THE COMMON GOOD
Janet McNally
Phoenix, AZ
Born in 1943
FIRST EXPERIENCE BEING DEFINED
Sylvia McShane
Dublin, Ireland
Born in1948
THEIR STORIES HAVE DIED WITH THEM
Robert Miltner
North Canton, OH
Born in 1949
THE DISASTER I HAD BEEN TRAINED
TO EXPECT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER
Donna Miscolta
Seattle, WA
Born in 1953
EVEN THE BEST PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK ARE NUTS
Lesley Morrison
Crossville, TN
Born in 1954
AT 19 AND 20 WE ARE INVINCIBLE
Sandell Morse
York, Maine
Born in 1939
THE EPICENTER OF THE EPICENTER
Patricia Mulcahy
Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC
Born in 1952
BUT THE FEAR SLIPS IN
Aífe Murray
San Francisco, CA
Born in 1953
CAN I STILL SAVE THE DAY?
Ken Neuhauser
Louisville, KY
Born 1951
I HAVE SEEN THE SUN
Keith Nightingale
Ojai, CA
Born 1943
IT’S TIME TO GET IN LINE
Janice Northerns
Liberal, KS
Born in 1956
OUR LIVES ARE SET IN STONE
Marvin Nyman
Chandler, NC
Born in 1945
I NEED TO MELT MY ISOLATION
Gail Osborne
Culver City, CA
Born in 1932
THAT HOPEFUL LOOK OF SIDELINED ENTREATY
Randy Osborne
Atlanta, GA
Born in 1955
I’VE BEEN LYING ABOUT MY AGE
SINCE MY LATE TWENTIES
Nancy J. O’Shay
Los Angeles, CA
Born in 1957
WAITING FOR A BACKYARD MONARCH
Joe Penczak
New Jersey
Born in 1959
MARRIAGE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
Ruth Pennebaker
Austin, TX
Born in 1949
QUARANTINE DIARY
Jane P. Perry
Oakland, CA
Born in 1955
WE’D BETTER DO THIS RIGHT
Robert Pickard
Fallbrook, California
Born in 1952
WE HAD LIVELY MINDS
Anna Rabkin
Berkeley, California
Born 1935
DANCING WITH MY DAUGHTER
IN THE MIDDLE OF WEST 70TH
Robin Reif
New York City
Born 1951
EIGHTY-ONE YEARS OLD? ARE YOU KIDDING?
Michael R. Rosen
New York NY
Born in 1938
I USED TO LONG FOR SOLITUDE
Lucy Sanna*
Madison, WI
Born in 1948
I’M NOT QUITTING NOW
Amy Schneider
Ojai, CA
Born in 1953
WE HAVE BECOME A PROBLEM
IN SEARCH OF A SOLUTION
Ann S. Sentilles
Dallas, TX
Born in 1947
LIT UP LIKE SPIRES ON GOLDEN CROWNS
Kent Shell
Born in 1957
Brooklyn, NY
TO DO LIST
Cari Shields
Warrenville, IL
Born in 1955
SWIMMING WITH GATORS
J. E. Sills
Queens, NYC
Born in 1953
BUT NOW
Robert Skollar
New York City, NY
Born in 1949
TIKTOK GIVES ME HOPE
Jack Smith
Rockville, Maryland
Born 1951
SURPRISINGLY RECIPROCATED
Michael J. Solender
Charlotte, NC
Born in 1958
SOMETHING IS GAINING ON US
Elinore Standard
Burlington, VT
Born in 1933
MY JOB IS TRIAGE. EVERYONE’S JOB IS TRIAGE.
Donna Steiner
Oswego, NY
1959 birth year
I NEVER HAD NIGHTMARES BEFORE
Andrea Troy
New York City
Born 1943
HUDDLED IN OUR HOUSES
Alvan Uhle
Ann Arbor, MI
Born in 1928
BY MARCH 16th I WAS UNEMPLOYED
Marguerite Tinker Vulfs
Nevada City, California
Age 63
MY MOM HAS SURVIVED EVERYTHING ELSE
Sara Tung
San Francisco, CA
Born in 1960
MODEL HORSES, SAFE UNDER THE STAIRS
Deborah Watson
Alameda, CA
Born in 1929
MY DYSTOPIAN LIFE
Rita Winters
St. Louis, MO
Born 1951
IF ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG, WE WILL LIVE FOREVER
Elizabeth S. Wolf
Merrimack Valley, MA
Born 1958
See all essays here:
A FORCE OUTSIDE MYSELF:
CITIZENS OVER 60 SPEAK