Author and professor Brené Brown writes about courage, and she says the definition has morphed from its original meaning. It wasn’t always heroic acts and superheroes. Brown explains that courage, derived from the Latin word “cor,” for heart, first meant giving voice to experience, “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”
By that definition, the main characters in the newspaper’s five-part series “The Alzheimer’s Generation” are undoubtedly courageous. The series ending Wednesday details the heartbreaking, inspirational stories of local families facing the unthinkable: the onset and progression of the memory-stealing disease that ultimately will affect millions of baby boomers.
Roberto and Malinda Anderson, a Stone Mountain couple, have seen their plans to travel during retirement curtailed by the creep of the disease. Jack St. Genis of Griffin and Mildred DeCsaby of Marietta are among the thousands of metro Atlantans experiencing memory loss with aging and wondering what will be next.
Ortrude White, an Atlanta architect, knows her “foggy days” are growing more frequent. She wants to make the most of the time she has with her husband, Myles Smith.
Ken and Robin Hulse of Peachtree City traded plans for a comfortable retirement for the financial challenges and unknowns of Alzheimer’s care.
Mary McCreary, who with her husband Lloyd is embracing experimental gene therapy at Emory, is hoping for results for herself and others. She recently had surgery that involved drilling two nickel-sized holes into her head.
Our series began the way many stories do: An enterprising reporter pitched a good idea. Helena Oliviero, who had profiled a senior with Alzheimer’s, wanted to feature a married couple facing the disease at home. Features editor Suzanne Van Atten, who had noticed an uptick in articles on aging and memory, believed readers would want a lot more.
The first baby boomers turn 65 this year, and by the time they hit 85, nearly one in two will have Alzheimer’s. Van Atten and Ken Foskett, Oliviero’s editor, enlisted others in brainstorming and the interviewing began.
“The first thing I started with is trying to identify couples willing to share their story,” said Oliviero, one of two reporters on the series. “I had to explain to the couples that I wasn’t only interested in a phone interview or quick chat but spending a lot of time in their home, and making sure a photographer also had access.”
Reporter Gracie Bonds Staples cast a wide net for her story on financial costs. She sent inquires to her long list of contacts, spoke with Alzheimer’s support groups, quizzed doctors who were sources for other stories. Ultimately, she talked with six families before settling on the Hulses, whom she identified through Emory University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
The Hulses were willing to discuss their financial situation and talk about matters others might consider embarrassing or too private to share.
“They were really open about the situation; they really wanted to talk,” Staples said. Robin Hulse detailed the mindboggling difficulty of navigating the financial ramifications of her husband’s diagnosis and care. “I think they wanted people to know what they are just now finding out, maybe keep someone else from going through it as they have,” Staples said.
Vino Wong, a photojournalist, also found the individuals featured in the stories welcoming. That’s a comfort when you climb into a swimming pool with a camera in a waterproof housing and hover around a story subject. Wong said the 20 or so students in the water aerobics class he photographed were all gracious and Mary McCreary didn’t even mind a few close-ups.
The kind of intimate reporting required to take readers deeply into stories like these can feel intrusive, and that can be a challenge for all journalists.
“It wasn’t easy doing some of the reporting of this story,” Oliviero said. “It weighed on me heavily, hearing stories and seeing firsthand the decline of loved ones.”
Staples admires the candor of the people she interviewed. Choosing to tell their stories was something they could control, in the face of a disease that limits choices.
Our journalists often are inspired by the strength of people facing adversity. This series was no exception. We hope you were also inspired by their courage.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wants to explain openly to readers what we do and why. Public editor Shawn McIntosh writes a column every other week to provide insight into newsroom operations, the newspaper’s role in the community and the industry. Write McIntosh at insideajc@ajc.com or join the conversation on editor Kevin Riley’s Facebook page,
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