“Living full out”: Nancy Solari interviews Gerda about accepting support from others in her uncertain future with dementia
I met Nancy Solari some time ago when she pre-recorded an interview about my dementia for her radio show. This week the show is being broadcast as If You Are Uncertain of the Future, by Turning to Others for Support You Will Be Able to Live Full Out.
Nancy Solari has first-hand experience of living full out in the midst of major challenges. When she was sixteen years old, she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and over the years experienced subtle yet measurable vision loss. In her early twenties, she had to stop driving. Today she is legally blind. Nevertheless, Nancy is a passionate, and successful example of how you can live the life you want with an empowered and positive mindset regardless of the challenges you face. She is one of the people I have spoken to since my dementia diagnosis who really understands how hard it is to accept help from other people when you lose some or a lot of your self-reliance. It was a pleasure to speak to her about my own struggles with accepting help—and a relief to confess how long it has taken me to do so with grace (sometimes!) and gratitude (always). She is an important example to me of how to live full out with joy.
LIsten to Nancy Solari’s radio show
Rather than let her growing vision loss destroy her dreams, Nancy launched into a connected series of successful careers. Along her journey, she has worked for Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight, had a successful music career, has been a top-producing realtor in Southern California, and is a successful business owner who, as a speaker and radio host, shares her tools for success with audiences and groups all over the country. She takes a proactive stance in her vision loss by volunteering for organizations like the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and she has participated in research studies to search for cures for retinal diseases.
Listen to Molly of “Still Being Molly” interviewing Nancy Solari