A Conversation with Author Ken Stern - In-person

at the Olney Library

Join Olney Library for a conversation with Ken Stern, author of "Healthy to 100: How Strong Social Ties Lead to Long Lives." His conversation partner is Kim Abbott, a global communications executive.

"...The real key to a long, vibrant life lies in our connections with one another. Healthy to 100 is both a wake-up call about our loneliness epidemic and a hopeful roadmap for building the social infrastructure we need to thrive at every stage of life. Compassionate, insightful, and surprisingly uplifting, this book will change how you think about growing older—and inspire you to invest in what truly matters.”  

                                                                                               ―Laura Carstensen, founding director, Stanford Center on Longevity

In celebration of OLDER AMERICANS MONTH, Olney Library is very pleased to welcome author Ken Stern to the branch. His recent book, Healthy to 100: How Strong Social Ties Lead to Long Lives, was named a Best Book on Healthy Aging by the Wall Street Journal. 

FROM PUBLISHER PUBLIC AFFAIRS / HACHETTE BOOK GROUP:
"Contrary to popular belief, the secret to living longer is not just about eating well, exercising, or getting regular checkups. Instead, successful aging depends on the nature of your relationships and your social connections. If you want to live a healthy and rewarding life, you need to start with social health.   

In Healthy to 100, longevity expert Ken Stern takes us on a journey to some of the longest-lived countries in the world—Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain—places that have achieved great advances in longevity by intentionally strengthening social connections. Science shows that physical and mental health outcomes are all improved by the intergenerational connectedness, sense of purpose, and respect enjoyed by older people in these countries.  

Their example offers us all a personal and societal guide for how we can better the second half of life. Weaving in surprising, colorful stories from around the world, Stern shows that the key to healthy longevity involves a mindset shift and purposeful building of social connections. Healthy to 100 offers a hopeful, attainable, research-backed model for anyone seeking a longer and healthier life." 

Q&A and light refreshments to follow. Copies of his book will be available for purchase/signing.  

NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BUT SEATING IS LIMITED.

KEN STERN is the founder and chair of the Longevity Project, which fosters public conversation and research on the impact on longer lives on civil society, and engages a global audience through events, research and newsletters. He hosts the award-winning podcast "Century Lives," from the Stanford Center on Longevity. A regular contributor to a diverse group of publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The Daily Beast, Washington Post and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Stern is also the CEO of Palisades Media Ventures, a Washington D.C. based thought leadership company.

He was previously the CEO of National Public Radio. During Stern's tenure, NPR’s audience more than doubled, to more than 26 million weekly listeners. Among his achievements was the launch of NPR’s award-winning podcast service, as well as NPR Music, mobile offerings, and the successful expansion of NPR.org. A lawyer by training, he holds degrees from Haverford College and Yale Law School. 

Check out Stern's recent LinkedIn post about the the impacts of libraries on health, particularly for older adults, here.  

He will be in conversation with KIM ABBOTT, a global communications leader and former CNN journalist with more than two decades' experience in news and nonprofit storytelling. She has spent her career advancing ideas and the people behind them to shape narratives and drive impact. Abbott is a co-founder/principal of Media Smart Global, a full spectrum media communications firm.

Questions about this program? Contact Olney Library at 240-773-9545.

Sponsored by Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, MD, Inc.

Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

cm 1.1 01/03/2023

Upcoming Events