Life is coming.

[hannah]

My next short-term fic project - 5000 to 20000 words, you know, short-term - will focus on a post-menopausal woman late in her life. To those reading this space who've gone through that process, is there anything of note I should be aware of or make sure to include? It's not a subject where I can extrapolate from personal experience, and most of the stuff I've yet found is fairly sanitized and clinical. Informative, yes, and also clinical. It's not quite what I'm after in terms of getting a hold on emotional thrust.

I'd like to take a stab at long-term love and the work required for that to work in the day-to-day. Knowing what at least one of the main characters has gone through, having lived all those days, would be a big help.

And now that I've asked the internet: time to see what the library's got.

Comments

[isis]

My parents are in their mid-80s, and I spent quite a bit of time with them last year. I don't see what mecurtin did. We actually had a very frank talk about intimacy because they were interviewed by someone studying long-lasting marriages and they passed on the survey/results. For example, they are no longer physically able to have sex (which they are not pleased about) but they cuddle A LOT. They also had bad health issues last year, and when they were separated (e.g. having to be in the hospital, or in rehab) they did poorly - being back together literally helped them heal. They both sleep a lot more (naps etc) than they used to, and also have difficulty sleeping through the night. They both are acutely aware of their memories and cognitive abilities sliding (they were both scientists). They have both recently had health issues where they needed wheelchairs for extended periods of time (months) but now my father only uses a cane and my mother uses a cane or a walker depending on how far she needs to go.

[hannah]

I've been thinking about the main character's attitude towards her current lack of sexual activity and the other ways she's found to be intimate with her partner. She knows she wouldn't be doing as well as she is without his help and presence.