GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022 - 23

cover story
Private time with her granddaughter
" I have my own little private thing going on with my
granddaughter, " Shriver exulted on Fox LA. " We have
our own conversation, our own language, I have my
own name... I just am beside myself about it. "
What's the name that tickles her so much? It turns
out to be Mom!
Shriver added, " I don't take that for granted. There
are people who don't get to my age, and who never
have that chance to see a grandchild, so that's one of
the things I thank God for every day, that I'm alive to
see that. "
At 66 Shriver lights up a room. She has that dazzling
Kennedy smile, so much like her mother and
her uncles. But there is
much more than looks
and glamour to Maria
Shriver. She shares
many of our struggles.
She's been there.
It's well-known
that Shriver has lived
through family tragedies-including
the
murder of her uncles
and the deaths of
beloved cousins like JFK
Jr. and his wife.
So why do I find
Maria Shriver so inspiring?
Her curiosity, her
empathy, her passion
not only to help others
but also her willingness
23 GRAND Spring 2022
"
WAM Founder Maria Shriver
said, " We know that two out
of three brains that develop
Alzheimer's belong to women,
but we don't know why... "
"
to personally take up a cause and do the grinding
work of finding solutions.
Shriver's mission to eliminate Alzheimer's
Like many Boomers, Shriver and her brothers
became caregivers to their parents. Her mother died
at age 88 in 2009 and her father at age 95 in 2011.
When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in
2003, Shriver was heartbroken to see his once-brilliant
mind disappear. Since then, she has made it her mission
to understand and find a cure for this devastating
disease. In 2004 she wrote a best-selling children's
book called " What's Happening to Grandpa? " She was
the executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, a
four-part series that premiered on HBO in 2009. The
documentary reported on the latest medical research
being done in leading laboratories. Just as close to her
heart are the effects of this disease on patients and
families. " It is destroying millions of lives, " she noted.
" Young and old. Patients and caregivers. And it's bankrupting
our country. "
As she learned more
about Alzheimer's, she came
to the shocking realization
that women were disproportionately
affected
by this disease. More than
55 million people around
the globe are living with
Alzheimer's, she has noted.
" Two-thirds of people diagnosed
with Alzheimer's are
women, and two-thirds of
the caregivers for those
patients are also women. I
wanted to understand why
the majority of cases were
happening to us. "
Continued on next page

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine https://twitter.com/grandmmagazine?lang=en https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO https://www.today.com/video/maria-shriver-talks-being-a-grandmother-as-daughter-katherine-expects-baby-no-2-135591493504

GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022