GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022 - 24

cover story
In 2010 she founded the Women's Alzheimer's
Movement (WAM) and chaired the first-ever virtual WAM
Summit. The event included some of the country's leading
minds for a multi-faceted discussion on caregiving,
the impact of Alzheimer's on families, as well as some of
the latest research on women's brains in connection to
Alzheimer's disease. You can watch and share the 2020
summit here.
Under Shriver's leadership, WAM has become an organization
that funds cutting-edge research, supports caregivers,
and educates people on how to prevent and cope with
the disease. In 2017, the Alzheimer's Association awarded
Shriver its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award for focusing
attention on brain health in women and Alzheimer's
prevention.
A fighting chance to change the future
Just recently, her determination to find a cure for
Alzheimer's took a giant leap forward.
In February 2022, the renowned Cleveland Clinic
"
24 GRAND Spring 2022
My own journey has been full of
twists and turns. But throughout it all,
one thing has always been constant:
My faith and my passion to make a
difference and be of service to my
announced a ground-breaking partnership with The
Women's Alzheimer's Movement aimed at further
researching and reducing women's risk for Alzheimer's
disease. Indeed, the partnership is expanding its mission
to include all neurological diseases that affect women. In
addition to her role as founder of WAM, Shriver will now
serve Cleveland Clinic as a strategic partner for Women's
Health and Alzheimer's.
Shriver explained: " Having helped establish the fact that
women are at the epicenter of Alzheimer's, we are now
intent on focusing on the question of why women are disproportionately
impacted by this - and so many other-
neurological diseases. We could not have found more
powerful, effective partners in this endeavor than Cleveland
Clinic with its proven commitment to ground-breaking
science and its thousands of highly gifted researchers
and medical personnel around the world. " Shriver added.
" Together, we stand a fighting chance in our efforts to
change the future for women's brains. "
" We are excited to have Maria Shriver join us as we
work to further explore and understand the connections
between how women's unique biology and health experiences
over the course of a lifetime impact their risk for
developing Alzheimer's and other diseases, " said Beri
Ridgeway, M.D., Cleveland Clinic's Chief of Staff. " WAM and
Maria have been at the forefront of making sex differences
in brain health a matter of discussion, paving the way for
groundbreaking research, education, and innovation. "
family, my community, and to the world.
"
The spiritual dimension of Maria Shriver
Two years ago-just as the Covid pandemic struck-
Shriver started a weekly newsletter, The Sunday Paper,
intending as she put it, " To inspire hearts and minds and
to elevate the voices and ideas of those trying to move
humanity forward. " Her positive messages, empathetic
reminders, and prayers are a welcome antidote to what she
calls " the noise " -all the news that makes us feel distressed
and helpless.
She now has tons of subscribers. Here is a link for you
to subscribe:
In practicing what she has learned about brain wellness,
Shriver has made exercise, good nutrition, and meditation
part of her daily routine. She meditates for 20 minutes first
thing in the morning. She also prays and expresses thanks.
She writes, " It's in my DNA to strive for a life of purpose
and meaning, but as we all know, figuring out your passion
and purpose can be a challenge.
" My own journey has been full of twists and turns. But
throughout it all, one thing has always been constant: My
faith and my passion to make a difference and be of service
to my family, my community, and to the world. "
Wendy Schuman is a proud grandmom of
four and freelance writer who makes her home
in West Orange, NJ. She is a former editor
of Parents Magazine and Beliefnet.com. Wendy
and her husband help a new generation of
college grads in Millennials in Wonderland. To
learn more about Grad Life Choices, their pro
bono coaching program, click here.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine https://twitter.com/grandmmagazine?lang=en https://thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/wam-summit/ https://mariashriver.com/category/the-sunday-paper/ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/landing/wam http://wendyschuman.com/ http://www.Beliefnet.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692885226/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0692885226&linkId=a5f2f43fcece8be6d25309147cd34c4c http://www.gradlifechoices.com/

GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022

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