Intimate and poignant, these narratives of resilience, identity, and joy in aging offer families, caregivers, and professionals a profoundly moving exploration of the human spirit, reminding us of our collective responsibility to honor, uplift, and preserve every life story with dignity and compassion for every walk of life.

We all hope to grow old with dignity and some joyfulness.  The intimate narratives of 40 extraordinary elders shared in I’ll Fly Away: Stories about Amazing Disabled Elders (on-sale May 13, 2025) explore the challenges of aging and the joys and vibrancy that often persist in the twilight years. Poignant observations of the patients, families, and a team of medical and public health professionals and para-professionals that intersect daily at the Center for Elders’ Independence in Oakland, California, reveal the complexities of aging, identity, amid the assertive persistence of the human spirit.

From a couple’s summer drive across the Arizona desert to a family’s struggle with mental illness to patients’ romantic escapades, each tale offers a unique glimpse into the resilience of individuals facing profound transitions and prompts questions about our collective responsibility to our elders.

While this book is valuable for medical and public health professionals seeking to serve their communities and patients best, it especially offers families kinship, support, and inspiration for navigating their situations. For patients and readers in general, I’ll Fly Away champions the idea that every one of us is a unique person with needs, wants, and a voice that is discoverable and deserves to be heard.

Full of sometimes unimaginably amusing and amazing tales endorsed by esteemed colleagues, I’ll Fly Away is a memoir and a powerful critique of societal attitudes towards aging. It embodies the notion that every life is a story worth telling, and every voice matters.   

Marc Sapir, a retired primary care, geriatric, and public health physician, is an essayist and political activist. He was the first Medical Director of the Center for Elders’ Independence for disabled elders for 9 years. He also previously worked for United Farm Workers and was a panel member of the Mad as Hell Doctors for Single Payer Health Care. A graduate of Brandeis University (BA) and Stanford Medical School (MD), he also holds a Master's Degree in Public Health (MPH) epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. 

He is the author of five plays and writes fiction, poetry, and music. He recently published a memoir, Deja Vu with Quixotic Delusions of Grandeur (May, 2024), and his writing has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Berkeley Daily Planet, the Palo Alto Times, the Stanford Daily, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, and more. He lives in Berkeley, CA.