Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life

Guest Bio: Rosanne Leipzig, MD, PhD

Internationally recognized in the field of geriatrics, Dr. Rosanne Leipzig is a trailblazer in transforming the way we approach aging individually and as a society. In her 40+ year career, she has treated thousands of patients and trained hundreds of doctors and practitioners in all specialties of medicine. She is the Gerald and May Ellen Ritter Professor and Vice Chair, Emerita of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Her new book, Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life, was published in January, 2023 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Dr. Leipzig's life-long commitment to older adults began with her grandmother who lived with her family for 8 years after developing cancer, yet decided at age 75 she wanted to be on her own again, so got an apartment where her closest friends lived. She later developed a cancer recurrence and spent several years in a nursing home. Her 'Bube' taught her how, no matter how old you are or where you are living, there are ways to have an engaged and meaningful life. She also taught her to try to be open and flexible as things change in life.

During her career as a doctor, she has received numerous awards. She has been repeatedly named as one of the Best Doctors in America (Woodward/White, Inc.), America's Top Physicians (Consumers Research Council of America), a New York Times SuperDoc, and one of New York Magazine's Top Doctors for Geriatric Medicine. She has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, and AARP Webinars, and has been published in TIME magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bottom Line Health, AARP The Magazine, Consumer Reports, and American Medical News, among others.

She has published over 100 scientific articles and published two groundbreaking books on geriatrics. For over 20 years, she has been the editor-in-chief of Focus on Healthy Aging, a monthly newsletter.

Dr. Leipzig has served as in a variety of Advisory capacities including: As a member of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), she championed changes in prevention and screening recommendations for older adults, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine she advocated for and achieved greater representation of knowledge of care for older adults in physician certification examinations.

Dr. Leipzig's latest book, Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life, describes what to expect physically, psychologically, functionally, and emotionally as you age, what you can do to adapt to your new normal. Martha Stewart calls it, "... essential reading for anyone who is growing older, or whose loved ones are growing older – in other words, for all of us!".

A nationally recognized thought leader Dr. Leipzig has brought her expertise to dialogues with organizations as varied as the FDA, the American College of Cardiology, and AARP. Additionally, she is widely sought-after speaker for medical symposia and community forums. Rosanne Leipzig believes that as a society we need a paradigm shift on how we, as individuals, organizations, and society, think about and react to aging, and how we can move from unconscious ageism to a more honest aging. The goal is a more engaged and meaningful life at every stage of life.