Caitlin Manner

“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” 
― Mark Twain


Photo by Judit Peter on Pexels

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based out of Yorktown, Virginia. When I'm not working, I'm busy raising my three rambunctious boys, attempting questionable DIY home improvement projects,  and trying to find time for running, gardening or crafting.

Featured Articles

Explore a featured selection of my writing work below.
55+ Life •

The Rise of Third-party Provided Menopause Support

Thousands of women in America feel they aren’t receiving sufficient support for their menopause symptoms. The reasons are myriad, and include reliance on outdated, problematic studies; a lack of providers who are well-versed in menopause treatments; and limited access to care. As a result, many women are turning to third-party providers that specialize in menopause therapies. (These providers offer HRT and other specialized care for women going through perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause,...
55+ Life •

Can Tetris Help With PTSD?

For kids of the 1990s, Tetris wasn’t just a video game; it was an obsession, glowing from Game Boys in back seats, classrooms and living rooms across America. Decades later, those same falling blocks are finding new purpose: helping researchers and therapists explore ways to ease the grip of trauma and painful memories.In recent years, researchers have begun exploring whether Tetris can be an effective tool as part of a structured process known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Th...
SevenPonds •

How to Manage Hospice Care When You're Doing It Alone (Interview) - SevenPonds

Brent Metcalfe had been a hospice nurse in Massachusetts for 10 years when his wife, Sue, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. As these nerve cells die, the brain can no… Brent Metcalfe had been a hospice nurse in Massachusetts for 10 years when his wife, Sue, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.


Commonly kno...
SevenPonds •

‘Hospital of Emotions’ Transforms a Los Angeles Building Into an Immersive Art Experience - SevenPonds

In the “Hospital of Emotions,” an expansive exhibit running from May through July 31each emotion becomes its own hospital department. Joy, love, fear, anger, hope, sadness, gratitude and resilience are on display in 80 hospital rooms and corridors spread over 4 floors, transforming a formerly sterile, intimidating facility into a fully immersive artistic experience.  The… In the “Hospital of Emotions,” an expansive exhibit running from May through July 31each emotion becomes its own hospital dep...
SevenPonds •

Funeral Homes Continue to Violate the FTC’s Funeral Rule - SevenPonds

In January of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to 39 funeral homes across the country after investigators conducted the agency’s first undercover phone sweep and discovered several violations of the Funeral Rule.  This law is critical for ensuring transparency and fairness, allowing bereaved families to accurately compare funeral service prices and… In January of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to 39 funeral homes across the country afte...
SevenPonds •

Neurodivergent Brains Don’t Grieve ‘Wrong,’ They Grieve Differently - SevenPonds

After psychiatrist and ADHD clinical specialist Sasha Hamdani lost her father, grief didn’t just break her heart – it broke her carefully constructed systems for functioning with ADHD. In her speech at the 2025 EndWell conference, Hamdani suggested her experience taught her that neurodivergent people need to have different conversations about death and grief. “Not… After psychiatrist and ADHD clinical specialist Sasha Hamdani lost her father, grief didn’t just break her heart – it broke her care...
SevenPonds •

What is Sacred Body Washing? (Interview) - SevenPonds

Many faith traditions include ritual washing of the dead, including Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. This practice is often understood as a final act of care and purification and is performed as a gesture of respect for the deceased.  As a ritual artist with deep roots in grief counseling and caring for hospice patients, Ellen Hufschmidt has… Many faith traditions include ritual washing of the dead, including Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. This practice is often understood as a final act of care and p...
SevenPonds •

"Twilight of Death," the "Third State," and Advances in Postmortem Biology - SevenPonds

Medical innovations and interventions have progressed to the point that doctors and scientists are finding it more difficult to conclusively define when we die. Some fascinating recent studies that delve into postmortem biological functions are revealing that our current understanding of death might be outdated, with implications that could dramatically impact what we know about… Medical innovations and interventions have progressed to the point that doctors and scientists are finding it more di...
55+ Life •

Can You Identify A.I.?

I’m a complete sucker for cute animal videos. Show me a montage of dogs being goofy or one of those heart-warming videos where a wild animal recognizes someone who used to care for them, and I will punch that “like” button immediately, ensuring that my social media feed is kept chock-full of similar content.Until the other day, when I was innocently scrolling and one of my teenage sons looked at my screen and scoffed, “Pfft. That’s A.I.” I had to do a double-take. First of all, how dare they? An...
55+ Life •

How Purpose-Driven Living is Powering the Golden Years

Purpose-driven living is having a moment, and we can’t be more excited. There are grey-haired goddesses walking the runways in Paris, octogenarian entrepreneurs, older athletes setting records and countless other examples of people over 50 refusing to let age be an excuse for giving up. The boomer generation — often unfairly maligned for many of the world’s ills — is redefining, reimagining and reinventing retirement and later life for the better.Research shows that people with a stronger sense...
55+ Life •

Wellness Tourism is About Going Away to Get Well

Vacations are all about recharging, unwinding, relaxing. But too often we return home exhausted and burnt out from trying to see and do and eat and cram a year’s worth of experiences into a whirlwind weeklong trip.What if instead of needing a vacation after your vacation, you came home refreshed, energized and revitalized, feeling better than ever? It’s possible, thanks to a multibillion dollar travel trend that promotes maintaining or enhancing one’s health as the primary objective for travel.W...
55+ Life •

Smarter, Calmer, Healthier: The Positive Impact of Pets

We all intuitively know that animals can brighten our days. The interactions we have with our four-legged family members play a surprisingly large role in our mental and physical well-being, but it can be difficult to pin down the science that proves it. Nancy Gee knows this better than most: She’s the head anthrozoologist and director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Human-Animal Interaction, which studies human-animal relationships.Gee started out in cognitive and neural scienc...
55+ Life •

Hormone Replacement Therapy: What You Need to Know

Approximately 6,000 women in our nation enter menopause each day, usually during their 50s. For some, it’s no big deal; for others, though, “the change” can be debilitating. Menopause can be more than just inconvenient hot flashes and mood swings (although those are common symptoms). It can also cause intense bouts of anxiety, depression, changes in skin conditions, difficulty sleeping, discomfort during sex, weight gain, chronic fatigue, thinning hair, vaginal dryness and feelings of a loss of
SevenPonds Blog •

How to Know When to Say Goodbye To Your Pet

An interview with Dr. Dani McVety, veterinarian and founder of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice and At-Home Euthanasia

If you’ve ever had the privilege of loving a pet, you are probably familiar with how emotionally draining it can be when they get old. Because as a pet owner, you are inevitably confronted with the question of whether or not it is time to ease them through their final days with humane euthanasia, or to engage in medical interventions that would prolong their stay.

As it stands i
55+ Life •

This Year, Make a Micro-Resolution

The new year is almost here with its promise of fresh starts and opportunities for personal growth. The pressure to come up with a fresh resolution is all around us. And at this point, it might be practically habitual to make a New Year’s resolution with the best intentions, only to have those ambitious goals fade into obscurity by February. If you’ve given up making New Year’s resolutions entirely, though, you’re not alone. According to DriveResearch, people over the age of 55 are three times l...
55+ Life •

Magic Mushrooms Making Way into Therapy

The possible benefits, risks, and what you should know

You may have heard that “magic mushrooms” are making a comeback, but this time, they’re medicinal. Instead of a recreational drug utilized for colorful, otherworldly hallucinations, they’re the latest innovative treatment being used for major depressive disorders.

Psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms, has been effectively criminalized since the 1970s, when it was deemed a Schedule I drug (high potential for misu
SevenPonds Blog •

Understanding Collective Grief - SevenPonds Blog

Collective grief happens when a community, society, or nation all experience extreme change or loss. It is common to experience collective grief in the wake of major events such as wars, natural disasters and other tragedies, even if you didn’t experience them firsthand. The past few years have seen countless events that would qualify: Entire swathes of North Carolina have been washed away by Hurricane Helene. Florida has been rocked by a succession of record-breaking hurricanes. In the west, en...
SevenPonds Blog •

Death Culture in America is Demonstrably Changing - SevenPonds Blog

How people choose to honor the rites and rituals surrounding death can be a helpful metric in measuring cultural attitudes towards the subject. In recent years, it has become apparent that cultural norms and new technologies have been slowly changing American’s relationship with death, as shown by the development of innovative funeral practices and a newfound focus on aesthetics.

According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, customs around death are changing dramatically. Just 30 years ago, t...
SevenPonds Blog •

D-Day Veterans Seek To Keep Their Stories Alive

Why it is so important for all of us to remember the lessons we learned from D-Day and those who fought in it

On June 6th, 1944, land, air and sea forces of the allied armies embarked upon the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Commonly remembered as D-Day, the daring invasion was instrumental in finally bringing German Nazi forces to its knees. This year marks the 80th anniversary of this infamous battle, and the few remaining veterans who were there are feeling compelled to shar
SevenPonds Blog •

The Tragic Death of Nex Benedict

Controversy surrounds the death of a young, nonbinary Indigenous student in Oklahoma

Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary Indigenous student from Owasso, Oklahoma, died on February 8th, 2024, just a day after they were assaulted in a school bathroom. Although the medical examiner’s preliminary report found that their death was likely the result of a lethal combination of two medications and not the injuries sustained in the attack, questions remain about the accuracy of the initial incident re
55+ Life •

Quick Getaways: Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Celebration gets a bad rap but it’s actually a great party

Over the years, proposals to visit New Orleans’ bacchanalian Mardi Gras celebrations have earned disdain similar to that of seeing the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Once considered items for a fun bucket list, both have reputations of being more trouble than they’re worth.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans gets a particularly bad rap. Yes, Bourbon Street is renowned for its displays of public drunkenness and other, ahem, risqué
SevenPonds Blog •

The Human Brain 'Shields' Us From Grasping Our Own Mortality

Scientists are just beginning to understand this evolutionary phenomenon

Death is a universally shared fate. With the rare exception of lobsters (seriously!) all creatures will eventually die of old age if they haven’t succumbed to another means of demise. And while everyone knows in some vague sense that they will die someday, too, it turns out our brains actively shield us from contemplating that notion too closely.

Why Can’t We Grasp Our Own Mortality?

In a study conducted at Bar Ilan Univ
55+ Life •

How to Travel with Friends...and Remain Friends

Anyone who has traveled anywhere will likely agree with this: travel can bring out the best — and worst — of everyone. Going on an extended trip with friends or other couples seems to exacerbate this universal truth. If you want to plan a trip with a group, then, avoiding these common missteps can help make this a trip to remember in all the best ways.

We cannot stress this enough: a calm but awkward discussion is always better than a fiery argument. The best way to stave off disagreements is t
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