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387 Nancy Morgan: Writing Toward Truth: On Family, Homelessness, and the Stories That Shape Us

387 Nancy Morgan: Writing Toward Truth: On Family, Homelessness, and the Stories That Shape Us

Author: Gail Zelitzky and Catherine Marienau July 1, 2026 Duration: 29:17
Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined
SocietySociety & CultureBusinessCultureEntrepreneurshipJournalsPersonalScience

Writing has been a guiding force in Nancy Morgan’s life, woven together with her love of language, travel, and cross-cultural learning. Across a career in teaching, curriculum design, media production, and study-abroad leadership, writing has remained at the heart of her work.

Now retired, Nancy has turned more deeply to writing as a way to explore life’s complex and difficult questions. Drawing on personal experience, she writes fictionalized accounts about the impact of dysfunction, homelessness, and mental illness on family relationships. Curious about the emotional truths beneath the surface, Nancy strives to “get into the soul of her characters.” Homelessness, a central theme in her writing, is also at the heart of her volunteer work and social commitment.

At the center of Nancy’s life is family. She describes her husband, two daughters, and seven grandchildren as her greatest source of joy and grounding. Today, Nancy says simply and gratefully, “I love the life I am living.”

“Stories can help us understand what families often struggle to say out loud.” - Nancy Morgan

Connect with Nancy

Email: nancybattistamorgan@gmail.com

Thanking our Platinum Sponsor—AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Shining the light on Age-Wise Collective—check out Boomer Banter with Wendy Green—it’s in a new chapter, with shorter solo episodes focused on her personal caregiving journey and the search for purpose in later life. Going deeper, her Substack, Thriving Through Time, by Boomer Banter is where she really opens up. Find everything on Wendy’s website, heyboomer.biz.


Hosted by Gail Zelitzky and Catherine Marienau, Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined turns the page on a well-worn cultural script. This is not a series about decline, but a collection of dialogues focused squarely on expansion. You’ll hear from women who are starting businesses, deepening their creative practices, forging new relationships, and confronting societal expectations with a refreshing blend of honesty and humor. These conversations, rooted in personal journals and lived expertise, delve into the practical and the profound-from the science of longevity to the personal journeys of resilience that define this chapter. The podcast moves beyond inspiration to offer tangible insight, framing the later decades as a time of active reinvention. Tune in for stories that replace stereotypes with specificity, and discover a community redefining what it means to grow older with purpose and curiosity.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined
Podcast Episodes
397 Ann Stanford: Envisioning the Fullness of Self [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:32
Retirement has afforded Ann Stanford, age 75, “unbelievable luxury—the space and freedom to let things bubble up.” She savors this time to reflect on how she really wants to live and what it means to become fully herself…
396 Cynthia Goren: A Life of Learning, Listening, and Helping Others [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:08
At 89, Cynthia Goren is navigating a profound new chapter. Since the death of her husband last October after 67 years of marriage, she has become more aware of her own mortality—and more determined to live meaningfully.…
394 Paula Nesoff: A Social Activist Born from the Realities of Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:21
As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Paula, 77, understood early what it meant to live with absence. Her parents each lost their entire families eventually meeting after the war and emigrating to the United States wit…
393 Terry Craig: The Power and Satisfaction of Building Community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:41
At 71, Terry Craig reflects on a life shaped by creativity, curiosity, movement, and reinvention.Growing up as the second of six siblings, Terry learned early how to resolve conflicts and bring people together. Her mothe…
392 Ruby Hill: A Life Shaped by Love, Learning, and Service [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:27
Recently, at 95, Ruby Hill spends time reflecting on her life. Two principles stand out: “I cared deeply about the needs of others, and the results were better than I could have imagined.” She also believes that much of…
391 Maureen Rafa: Advocate for Compassionate Care for Older Adults [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:01
Drawing on decades of experience in psychiatric mental health and a wide range of health care settings, Maureen Rafa now runs her own business as an elder care coordinator. She also actively volunteers to improve coordin…
390 Abbie Rosner: The Psychedelic Renaissance Among Older Adults [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:22
What if aging could become a time of deeper meaning, connection, and personal transformation? Writer and baby boomer Abbie Rosner explores that possibility in her new book, Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging. D…

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