place.Itseemedasif,onceagingledtodebility,itwas
impossible for anyone to be happy.
THEPLACETHEYdecidedtovisitwasn’tanursinghome
but anassisted living facility.Today,assisted livingis
regardedassomethingofanintermediatestationbetween
independentlivingandlifeinanursinghome.Butwhen
Keren Brown Wilson, one of the originators of the
concept,builtherfirstassistedlivinghomefortheaged
inOregoninthe1980s,shewastryingtocreateaplace
that would eliminate the need for nursing homes
altogether. She’dwanted to buildan alternative, not a
halfwaystation.Wilsonbelievedshecouldcreateaplace
wherepeoplelikeLouSanderscouldlivewithfreedom
and autonomy no matter how physically limited they
became.Shethoughtthatjustbecauseyou areold and
frail,youshouldn’thavetosubmittolifeinanasylum.In
herheadshehadavisionofhowtomakeabetterlife
achievable.Andthatvisionhadbeenformedbythesame
experiences—of reluctant dependency and agonized
responsibility—that Lou and Shelley were grappling
with.
ThebookishdaughterofaWestVirginiacoalminerand
a washerwoman, neither of whom were schooled past
eighthgrade,Wilsonwasanunlikelyradical.Whenshe
wasingradeschool,herfatherdied.Then,whenshewas
nineteen years old, her mother, Jessie, suffered a
devastating stroke. Jessie wasjust fifty-five years old.
Thestrokeleftherpermanentlyparalyzeddownoneside
of her body. She could no longer walk or stand. She
couldn’t lift her arm. Her face sagged. Her speech
slurred. Although her intelligence and perception were