Happy 14th Blogoversary

 

Image by Scott McLoud
via Creative Commons

Ah, the earth has made another trip around the sun, and this blog has accrued another anniversary, or blogoversary, if you will. 

This post will be number 510.  If my math is correct, this blog has posted on average three times each month (with some wild variation).  My goal is to post at least twice a month. 

Even though people have turned more towards social media posts that have images and posts that are shorter (I'm looking at you, Instagram), this blog still receives about 300 hits a day on days that I do not promote any content. 

Views for this blog
between Jan 2012 to Jan 2026

According to Blogger's statistics, these are the twelve posts that garnished the most views during 2025. Of course, there are a lot of evergreen posts on the posts most viewed during 2025 from all available posts. However, one post (More Community Building) did break through into this year's most viewed posts. 

Without further ado, here are the Top 12 Most Viewed Posts during 2025: 

1. Movies about Love and Sex for People 50 Plus. ( Posted 13 April 2013).  Link

2. More Community Building (Posted 31 March 2025). Link

2025 Top Ten Posts

 

Image from
Boston Public Library
via Creative Commons

It's that time of year where many are taking a backward glance over the concluding year. 

Here are the ten posts written in 2025 that received the most views this year: 

1. More Community Building. Link

2. Tom Lake: Book Review.  Link

3. Cognitive Overload. Link

4. Word of the Year: Meek. Link

5. Happy 13th Blogoversary. Link

6. Dementia: Personal Experience. Link

Happy 13th Blogoversary

 

Image by eflon 
via Creative Commons

I started my blog on aging thirteen years ago today.  I realize that Instagram and TikTok are becoming more popular among the various social media platforms. However, I still like the blog format, and I use this blog primarily to record the results of my reading what experts say about various aspects of aging at midlife and late life. I also use this blog to record personal experience. 

Image by Takashi Hososhima
via Creative Commons

I do see the appeal of images and short video reels, but I have been teaching writing classes for over four decades, and I still value writing as a form of critical thinking (for myself) and as a medium for communication. 

Let's look at a couple of metrics for this blog. I hope that you find a post that interests you! 

The Top 10 posts Viewed in 2024

These are my evergreen posts: ones written in previous years but viewed by people using search engines. 

1. Movies about Love and Sex of People 50 Plus LINK

2. Robert C. Peck's Tasks for Older Adults LINK

3. Movies about Older Adults in the Dying Process LINK

2024 Top Ten Posts

 

Photo by Andre' Hofmeister
via Creative Commons

Another year is coming to a close, so I am looking in the rearview mirror once again. 

In 2024, I wrote and published 19 posts, including this one. I succeeded in meeting my two posts a month goal until fall semester got into full swing, then I was silent during October and November. I was teaching three classes: two online for University of Southern Indiana and one for Snow College. I was also working 10-15 hours a week at my local public library. I just did not have the attention span to do much else once students' drafts of their research papers starting rolling in for comments. 

However, during the three previous years, I published fewer than 19 posts, so there is some victory in this  year's total!

Now let's look which of these posts garnished the most views. I hope that you find one that interests you.  

In reverse order, here they are: 

10. 85th Birthday Celebration on Mother's Day LINK

9. Late Life Happiness Boost: U Shaped Happiness Curve LINK

8. Patchwork Country Fitness LINK

7. Happy 20th Yoga-versary LINK

6  Outlive: Book Review LINK

5. Older Adults and Youth: Connecting the Past and the Present in the Future LINK

4. Drinking More Water LINK

3. The Book of Charlie: Book Review LINK

2. When Pneumonia Hijacked My Spouse LINK

And DRUMROLL, PLEASE!

1. Word of the Year for 2024: Community LINK

Related: 

2023 Top Ten Posts

2019 Top Ten Posts 

2014 Top Ten Posts

Happy 12th Blogoversary

Photo by Whitney
via Creative Commons

Over the last 12 years, I have managed to create 475 posts on aging. These posts explore how we can better manage our own wellness while offering support to the generation above us. 

In reviewing the "All Time Most Viewed" statistics, I can see that the Top 10 posts for this blog have remained about the same. 

If you want to see what blog readers most enjoy reading, you can go to THIS LINK for the 6th Blogoversary celebration (01 Jan 2018) to find links to the Top 20 most viewed posts. 

The most notable change in the Top 20 is that the 2013 post about Robert C. Peck's Tasks for Older Adults is slowly moving up in the rankings. You can find that post at THIS LINK. 

2023 Top 10 Posts

Image by Joseph Brent
via Creative Commons

It's time to look in the rearview mirror. 

In 2023, this blog hosted 14 blog posts--excluding this one. Here are the Top 10 most viewed posts in reverse order. 

10. It's Never Too Late to Stand Up Straight. Published 5 June 2023. LINK

9. My Source of Wisdom. Published 28 April 2028. LINK 

8. Posture Mantra: Tall, Proud, Ballerina-Book. 26 June 2023. LINK

7. Empty Nest Ennui. Published 7 March 2023. LINK

6. Mother's Day Gift Guide: Nonfiction Kidlit. Published 1 May 2023. LINK

5. Boomer Named Karen. Published 4 April 2023. LINK

4. In Love--A Memoir of Loss and Love. A Book Review. Published 28 February 2023. LINK

3. Numbers Top--Friday Fashion (photo at the right). Published 31 March 2023.  LINK

2. Curriculum Vitae with a Focus on Gerontology Instruction. Published 1 February 2023 LINK

and DRUMROLL, please. 

1. Word of the [2023] Year: Breath(e). Published 29 January 2023. LINK

Happy 11th Blogoversary

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via Creative Commons

Happy 11th Blogoversary to The Generation Above Me. 

Over the last decade plus, this blog has been the host to 459 posts and 2,795 comments. 

These posts have gleaned over a million views (1,355,636).  

In 2014, this blog hosted 114 posts, the most productive year. 

In 2022, this blog hosted 9 posts.  

I am still thinking about aging. I just need write about it. 

Part of the issue is that my children have six living grandparents ranging in ages from 80 to 88. (My in-laws, my mother and her husband, and my father and his wife.) All six of them are experiencing some growth and development, and they are making some great contributions to their churches, neighborhoods, their friendship networks, and their families near and far. However, they are also facing notable challenges. However, I want to afford them privacy, so I am not detailing those challenges here. 

The posts with the all-time views has not moved very much in the last few years, so you might want to visit this 2016 post that lists (with links) the 20 posts with the most views over the life of this blog. 

The most viewed post written in 2022 was this conference preview. 

2022 Mid-American Institute on Aging and Wellness - Concurrent Sessions

The most viewed post over the last twelve months was this 2013 post, which I update now and then: 

Movies Set in Nursing Homes (and other venues for senior housing). 

If you are only going to read one post, I would recommend this one: 

Ten Books: An Essential Library on Aging. 

All my best to you and yours for a 2023 that is filled with opportunities to promote wellness in mind, body, and spirit. 

Related:

Happy 10th Blogoversary

Happy 9th Blogoversary

Happy 8th Blogoversary

Happy 7th Blogoversary

2022 Top Posts, but not really

Image by Leo Reynolds
by Creative Commons

Today marks the last day of 2022. 

I am looking back over the posts published on this aging blog over the last year and seeing that I have not been sharing a lot of my insights on aging.  I only completed nine posts--counting this one. Consequently, compiling a list of Top 10 posts is a little disingenuous.  

Here are the three posts written in 2022 with the most views: 

Gym Rat at Sixty

Critical Age Theory: Book Review

2022 MAIA Concurrent Sessions

I am still teaching gerontology classes as an adjunct at both the University of Evansville and at the University of Southern Indiana (USI).  

In previous years, I frequently wrote posts about films that I have viewed and books that I have read on topics related to aging.  In 2022, I only read one book about aging.  Lately, I have been spending more time at the gym and less time reading and watching films.  

Happy 10th Blogoversary

 

"Ten" by Gamma-Ray Productions 
is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

When I was working on my master's degree in gerontology / aging studies, I wanted to place to record my growing awareness of how we age and how we can better manage the aging process. 

I have a tendency to do a deep dive into topics by looking at academic journal articles, government reports, and information on websites hosted by nongovernmental organizations.  I also like to read broadly about aging and watch films that feature older adults as the protagonists. 

However, as the weeks, months, and years go on, I do not always remember details such statistics or the precise titles of books that I've read or the names of every leading actor in films that I view. 

This blog serves as a great way to jog my own memory. I am more than happy to share my efforts with others. 

Today is the 10th anniversary of this blog, or my blogoversary. During this time, I have written and published 450 posts.  

The overall Top 20 has not changed much in the last few years, so here is a link to a previous blogoversary post that includes the 20 titles and their links. 

Consequently, here are the posts with the most views for each year since I started this blog. 

2012 Films about Aging

2013 Film's about Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (NCDs)

2014 Books about Dementia (Neurocognitive Disorders)

2015 Baby Boomers Born in 1962

2021 Top Posts

Image by Daniel Lobo
via Creative Commons

In 2021, I only posted about once a month. Why the drop in productivity? 

Skip to the end of this post for information about the reading I have been doing related to the pandemic. 

To avoid presenting an archive for the year, I'm going to present a different kind of Top 10. 

These five posts were written/published in 2021. 

Out of the 13 posts published this year, they received the most views. 

1. 2021 Mid-American Institute on Aging & Wellness: A Preview. July 31, 2021

2. Supernova: A Film Review July 1, 2021

3. Ten Books: An Essential Library on Aging. April 17, 2021

4. 2020 Report on Older Americans. March 29, 2021

5. Nomadland: Film with a View on Poverty April 29, 2021

Happy 9th Blogoversary

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via Creative Commons

Today marks the 9th Blogoversary for The Generation Above Me (TGAM). I started this blog when I was a graduate student, earning a master's in Gerontology aka Aging Studies.  

I wanted a place to save links to more authoritative sources than the papers I was writing for my seminar classes. I also wanted to save reviews for books and films about aging for my own reference.  

Over time, family, friends, and associates would ask me questions about their parents' aging process and their own. The blog became a place for me to write up what I learned for others faced with the same set of age-correlated challenges or opportunities. 

For the first six years, my blogoversary post included a list of the overall top views for TGAM. However, I have found that with 436 posts published over nine years, the Top 20 views have not changed substantially.  

Most of the Top 20 All-Time Views for this blog are part of these series of posts--or they are in the spirit of these posts: 

Films about Aging.  The links for Films about Alzheimer's Disease (and other dementias), Films Set in Nursing Homes, and Films about the Dying Process are the three most popular posts in this series. I enjoy watching films about aging because reading academic studies can leave me cold. Aging is an holistic activity that includes emotions and relationships.  Films do a good job depicting complexities and nuance. I highly suggest the documentaries since many feature films can gloss over some of the more pragmatic concerns. 

Books about Aging  Books about Dementia receives the most views, but I am partial to books about Spirituality and Aging. I spent forty years studying and teaching college English courses. And it is my nature to read a great deal when faced with new challenges and opportunities. I hope that my efforts hear can serve others. And writing reviews helps me to recall more details from books read years prior. 

Image by bairo via Creative Commons.

2020 Top 10 Posts

Image by Josh Mazgelis via Creative Commons

Each December of the life of this blog, I post a list of the ten posts composed over the year that received the highest views. 

Because of the global pandemic, many of my posts posted this year focus on SARS-CoV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (the disease). 

Four of the ten posts in this year's Top 10 do come from topics more typical for my blog: three book reviews regarding aging and one preview for a conference on aging. 

Here is the list in descending order of views (most viewed first): 

1. Virtual MAIA Every Thursday in August. 23 June 2020.  LINK

2. Podcasts about COVID-19. 1 July 2020.  (and SARS-CoV-2). LINK

3. Books about Epidemics and Pandemics.  31 May 2020. LINK

4. Coronavirus, Ageism, Ableism and More. 1 March 2020.  LINK

5. This Chair Rocks: Book Review. 7 January 2020.  LINK

6. MacKay's Swiss Cheese Virus Defense. 31 October 2020.  LINK

7. Settings that Heighten Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission. 12 June 2020. LINK

Happy 8th Blogoversary

Photo by postbear.

Today marks 8 years since I launched this blog, The Generation Above Me.

Happy Blogoversary to TGAM!

Over the last eight years, The Generation Above Me has garnished over a million views of its 425 posts.  

I have several posts on these topics:

• cognition
• nutrition
• exercise / fitness
• films
• books
• caregiving
• spirituality

Bias towards the Humanities

I do have a master's in gerontology, earned from 2010 to 2012. However, I taught college English for over three decades (composition, rhetoric, literature, linguistics). But I also lean into a the social sciences a bit. I am also interested in psychology, sociology, communications, education, religious studies.

Trends

2019 Top 10 Posts

Photo by draml.

Another year is coming to a close. Many of the posts from 2019 are related to the university courses that I teach:

• During Fall 2019, I taught Spirituality and Aging for the first time. For years prior, I have intentionally published more blog posts about spirituality, mindfulness, and psychology because the search data shows reader interest. Two of the Top 10 are on this topic.
• I teach Death, Dying, and Bereavement every spring semester, which explains my persistent interest in topics such as advanced care planning and Tisdale's book Advice for Future Corpses--two posts in the Top 10.
• I am teaching Biology of Aging again, so continuing my series on biomarkers for longevity helps support that course material. Most recently, I wrote about Body Mass Index (BMI), which achieved #6 in views this year. 

Here are TGAM's Top 10 posts (by views) for 2019.

Happy 7th Blogoversary

Photo by Jim Larrison.

Seven years ago today, I launched this blog, The Generation Above Me.

For the previous six years, I have posted the Top 10 or 20 Views over the life of the blog. When I checked the statistics this morning, the posts in the Top 20 stayed relatively constant over the last year.

Here are the All-Time Top 5 Posts for this blog:

5. Films Set in Nursing Homes
4. Books about Aging
3. Adjusting to Bifocals
2. Films about Aging
1. Films about Alzheimer's and Other Dementias


If you want to peruse the list of posts 6-20, you can visit last year's blogoversary post:

2018 Top Ten Posts

Photo by vallgall.

It's time to look back at the posts published in 2018 here at The Generation Above Me.

Most of the posts were book reviews or film reviews with a smattering of posts about health, fitness, and biomarkers of longevity.

I teach classes in gerontology at University of Southern Indiana and writing classes at University of Evansville. I also volunteer for the MAIA conference co-sponsored by USI; a lot of that showed up on the blog.

Without further ado, here are the 2018 Top 10 Most Viewed posts from The Generation Above Me.

In ascending order...

10.  Blood Urea Nitrogen: Biomarker of Health and Longevity

If BUN values are too high or too low, this may indicate problems such as under/over hydration, poor liver function, poor kidney function, heart problems, pancreas problems, nutrition problems (protein intake particularly), etc.

9. Preview for the 2018 MAIA and Wellness

Before the conference, I listed presenters' Twitter handles / Facebook pages for ease of reference while live tweeting. There are 30 plus fantastic professionals in the areas of wellness across the lifespan with particular attention to aging well. Follow them all on social media!

Happy 6th Blogoversary

Photo by Kiran Foster.

It's that time of year again!

January 1, 2018 marks the 6th blogoversary for The Generation Above Me.  Thanks for tagging along--whether this is the first time you have visited the blog or if you've been here from the start.

Below are the Top 20 posts by views over the life of the blog. These views have accrued after six years.  The blog contains well over 300 posts. The Top 10 are relatively unchanged from 2007. 

Presented in ascending order:

20. Books about Dementia
19. The Song of Lunch: Film Review
18. When Breath Becomes Air: Book Review
17. Hello, My Name Is Doris
16. Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Book Review

15. Older Adults Who Are Athletes
14. Quotes about Aging
13. Mean Arterial Pressure: Biomarker of Longevity and Health
12. Shoulder Pain and Ageism
11. Somebody Stole My Iron: Book Review

10. Gum Health: Biomarker of Longevity and Health
9. Robert Peck's Tasks for Older Adults
8. Life Span vs. Life Expectancy
7. Hospital-induced Delirium
6. Label Clothing for Nursing Home Residents

5. Films Set in Nursing Homes
4. Books about Aging
3. Adjusting to Bifocals
2. Films about Aging
1. Films about Alzheimer's and Other Dementias


Have a great 2018, dear readers.

Related:

2017 Top 10 Posts

2017 Top 10 Posts

Adapted photo by June Marie.

Over the last year, this blog carried a modest number of posts, around two dozen.  Nevertheless, many received significant views.

Here are the Top 10 posts written / published on this blog in 2017 (in ascending order):

#10. Evansville Hosts Aging Avengers.

The Tristate (IL-IN-KY) enjoyed a visit by the Changing Aging Team led by Dr. Bill Thomas for a day of presentations on how to challenge stereotypes of aging and how to recognize the influential roles that older adults have in our communities.

#9. Lifespan Differs from Health Span

People in industrialized nations are living much longer than their grandparents. However, the last years of their life will more probably include living with chronic diseases and disability.

#8. Older Americans 2016 Federal Report on Aging

Every two or three years, several US government office work together to compile a report of key indicators of well being for older adults.  This post lists the 41 indicators and includes links to the full report and to a few executive summaries of the report.

Happy 5th Blogoversary to TGAM

Image by Nick Lee.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of this blog on aging.

Initially, this was a place for me to record my observations as a graduate student in a gerontology master's program.

Since then, I have taught gerontology classes at Wichita State University before moving to Indiana, where I currently teach part time for University of Southern Indiana (USI).

One of my primary identities is "Life-long Learner."  The blog gives me a place to share book reviews, research notes, and film critiques.

Here are the 20 posts that have accrued the most views over the last five years. 

In ascending order...

20. Quotes about Aging (April 25, 2016)
19. New Home for an Emptying Nester (March 14, 2016)
18. Midlife Ennui (March 7, 2016)
17. The Lie of One-and-Done Caregiving (January 21, 2016)
16. Books about Alzheimer's (June 5, 2014)

2016 Top Ten Posts

Photo by Sam Churchill.

Over the last year, this blog enjoyed a significant jump in readership.

Thank you, dear readers, for traveling with me.

This blog records my journey to better my own aging process while supporting the generation above me.

I'm hoping that other travelers have an easier path because of my "trail notes." 

Without further ado, here is a countdown of the Top 10 Posts written and posted in 2016, in ascending order:

#10 About Schmidt vs. O'Horton: A Film Pairing. 

Both of these films (one American, one Norwegian) chronicle the transition from full-time work to retirement.  The main characters, however, take a radically different approach to adjusting.  Great performances by Jack Nicholson and Baar Owe.  

#9 Celebrate Singers Who Are Stayin' Alive. 

Baby Boomers said farewell to many favorite entertainers.  While it's appropriate to memorialize them, we can also embrace many recording artists who are still living and working.  Are your favorite singers from the 1960s and 1970s on this list?