Moving to the Center of the Bed

Natti Haziran 16, 2021

I met author Sheila Weinstein at one of Debra Rapoport's famous tea parties and was instantly inspired by her energy and her wonderful story. Sheila describes her experience moving to New York after the loss of her partner below:

The title of my book: Moving to the Center of the Bed, is a metaphor for moving to the center of my own life. My husband, a practicing ophthalmologist, was diagnosed with dementia when he was sixty four, and when he entered a facility I was alone for the first time in my life. I took notes on my strange and, at first, anxiety ridden new life, and it eventually turned into this book. It is about transforming myself from within, giving myself an inner makeover…more lasting than the makeovers I show up for at the cosmetics counters …to become the woman I am today.

I moved to NYC not knowing anyone and created a life filled with the things that have meaning for me. I’m a pianist and writer and for the last 10 years I’ve been a docent at Carnegie Hall and played there in 2008. I met new and creative people and found some amazing women my age (77 now) who love who they are, age be damned, and dress in original and liberating ways. They changed the way I think about my own aging. I’ve always loved wearing hats, but I still tend to be conservative in my dress. However, I am now unafraid to put myself out there as a woman of a certain age. I have lots of energy so let people figure out how old I am, if they care to.

My grateful appreciation to Ari for his love and appreciation of us older women.