Taking the Plunge
I love it
when readers recommend people to profile. It gives a different perspective and
widens my circle of interesting friends. R2
My first impression upon meeting Bertha
Cooper was her open and joyful face.
She breathed optimism and was an impressive listener. I learned later that she was a very
experienced facilitator for groups and organizations in conducting workshops
and forums. She has a background in nursing and hospital administration. She is also passionate about issues and works
to have an influence on the course of events.
Then she
interviewed me for a book she was writing about women aging in America Carrol
Hull
When I arrived in my sixties, I
realized that despite or maybe because of spending decades working with ailing
aging people, I wasn’t ready to be old. I didn’t really know what to expect besides
illness and disability. So, I embarked on learning about natural aging which
soon morphed into research into healthy and positive aging. I spent over three
years writing a book on Women and Aging to answer my own questions and those of
the women I involved in the conversation. I came to believe that women long for
this conversation about aging in an environment that pushes anti-aging, one of
the more absurd notions of our time.
I enjoy meeting with groups of women to talk about aging as a woman (the
topic of my yet to be published book). I have also facilitated, as a
volunteer facilitator, initial discussions for non-profit groups who have found
their mission changing usually due to growing membership and wish to
constructively involve their membership in defining new directions.
I hope my book will be published and shared. In the meantime, I am entering the young of old age and I am ready.
I hope my book will be published and shared. In the meantime, I am entering the young of old age and I am ready.
- Who are you? List 5 words that define you!
Bright –
Curious – Loving – Analytical – Creative
- What have you done that you’re most proud of?
I
independently obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in an
environment of little encouragement (financially or otherwise) from family,
society, and counselors. That degree opened the door to my good life. It was
possible to work to afford college then; I am saddened and alarmed that women
and men cannot do the same today.
- If you could change one thing in your past, what
would it be?
My first
name.
- On a personal/client level, what drives you crazy? What gives you joy?
I am most
driven to straighten crooked ideas or at least poke them. Some are more serious
than others. The most serious to me is the ease at which people will discredit
the life and accomplishments of another or others in order to be right, to keep
power and/or feel superior among other things.
My joy of
life comes from having a great love in my life and a great love for the human
experience. I’m captivated by the seasons of nature. AND tulips give me great
joy and laughs because they grow even after they are picked and following a
final burst of beauty, they fall apart.
- Given no restrictions (i.e. money/physical
capabilities) – what would you most like to do?
Hmm – I
pretty much like what I am doing although I could pay experts to build a platform
from which I could sell my writing. I find some of social media tedious to
maintain when I am ready to go on to the rest of my bucket list of causes.
 |
| Me, my Great Love, and my Granddaughter - the artist. |
Bertha’s column appears in The
Sequim Gazette the first Wednesday of every month, typically placed on the
editorial page.
Bertha’s e-mail is bdcooper@olypen.com
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