Vallejo-Times Herald September 2006
Elderly tell stories 'Artfully'
By Rich Freedman, MEDIANEWS

IT WAS A SIMPLE CHAT with a 105-year-old woman. Amy Gorman didn't expect a lot. And she got an earful. After she finished speaking, I said, "Wow, I'm onto something here," recalled Gorman.

And she took it from there, interviewing 12 Bay Area women aged 85 to 105 who are still
excelling in the visual and performing arts field.

Four of the 12 subjects are Oakland residents, Gorman said. It was a project Gorman started four years ago after talking to Lily, the aforementioned centenarian.

"These stories have to be told," Gorman said. "It can't wait any longer. So I started writing them up."

When Gorman would interview one subject, she would be referred to another.

"You ask people and they tell you about somebody else," said Gorman, a Berkeley resident.

A DVD, "Still Kicking" by Greg Young, accompanies the book along with a seven-song CD.

The problem with working on a book of the elderly is that some will die by the time it's
released, Gorman lamented. Lily made it to 107 before passing, the author said.

The dozen women didn't end as simply subjects of Gorman's book. "I fell in love with them," Gorman said.

There was Madeline, who just turned 104. And 98-year-old Frances. Three women are in their 80s. And Isabel is coming up on 90.

"They're all up there," said Gorman, a spry 66.

The criteria for the project goes beyond age and accomplishments, Gorman said.

"I was looking for women who were role models," she said. "Women I could look up to."

All the elderly talked about death, Gorman said. "And they let it go. It's not something they
dwell on. I think they've all come to terms with it as a group. They've really lived good lives.
Whenever death comes, they're ready. They just want to do their thing every day. They haven't resolved all their problems, but they don't get hung up about it."

Aging Artfully is Gorman's first book.

"I never was a writer," she said. "Now, I am."

Posted with permission from the Vallejo-Times Herald