I have often considered what I should be doing in my retirement years. I wanted to sustain my cognitive domain to remain active for as long as possible and prevent dementia.
A Google search revealed that writing could give you better mental health and is also a way to preserve your memories and pass on your knowledge and experiences for future generations but was there any proof I had witnessed? I needn’t look further for what better evidence than my grandfather!

My grandfather lived until 105 years and was an avid writer. Even before retiring from Ambassador for Myanmar, he wrote his speeches. He believed in the authenticity of his speeches and strived to deliver them from memory after rehearsing many times, as he didn’t believe in referring to notes either. He also took great pride in including native languages in his speeches, in Russian when he was posted to Russia and in Hindi when he was assigned to India.
Upon retiring, he wrote his memoirs about the small village he grew up in and his father, whom he revered. A devout follower of Buddha’s teaching, he wrote many articles on dhamma. He was a disciplined man who followed a daily exercise regime, gardening, reading, writing, and meditation. Meals were also at fixed times, with only porridge or soup for dinner, his motto being “eat to live; not live to eat.”

He was fiercely independent; although wheelchair-bound in his 90s, he refused to live with his surviving daughter. He outlived my parents, sons & daughter-in-law and continued to reside alone in the British Colonial house(his wedding gift), looked after mainly by his great-niece.
Grandfather continued to write until well into his 90s and was utterly lucid until his last day. So lucid in fact, that on the day he passed away, he said his final prayers to his long-dead parents, after which he calmly asked his great-niece for a cool glass of water and after drinking said, “I shall die now,” turned on his side and drew his last breath.

Another example is my 98-year-old father-in-law, a proud Chin National, one of Myanmar’s eight major national races. As an independent and disciplined person, he writes in his ethnic language and Burmese and English. One of his books, “Lest we forget,” is in the background of Chin affairs. A retired senior government official, he is much revered in his hometown. Although hard of hearing, his mind remains as sharp as ever.
My grandfather and my father-in-law have some things in common; both lead disciplined lives, write, and are healthy. The only medication they take is vitamin supplements. Hence, writing does provide good mental health, as evidenced in my late grandfather and my father-in-law. They have also left behind their knowledge and experiences for future generations.


Stephen King quotes, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
Did I mention my grandfather and father-in-law both read a lot, too?
Dr. Thazin Han is a retired radiologist with a strong interest in medical education. She worked as an education officer at the Dept of Diagnostic Radiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, from 2007 to 2019. She is retired but still practices radiology part-time and is a resource person and committee member of the Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy.