About the Author
HOW TO LIVE AND LOVE FOREVER AFTER
“12 Vows to Stay Married”
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
(63+ YEARS MARRIED, 80+ YEARS
HEALTHY, HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS)
Jerry Rhoads, a young 83, has had over 60 years’ experience in health care. He is a CPA and a licensed nursing home administrator. He has owned an accounting firm, a consulting business and a software business servicing long term care and skilled nursing homes. Considered an expert in Medicare and Medicaid regulations and management of operations. He has authored nine health care related books.
Shari Rhoads a younger yet 82, is a trained cosmetologist, nursing home owner, administrator and business partner with Jerry and their son Kip Rhoads a, computer expert, for thirty years. She is also Jerry’s editor of sixteen books and is the mother of four grown children, twelve grandchildren and eight great-grandsons and three great-granddaughters. All the while finding time to paint, dance stay fit and planning to extend she. and Jerry’s marriage well beyond their 63rd wedding anniversary November 27, 2022. Making their marriage one in a million in this millennium. The above picture was after their 75th birthdays, October 12, 1940 for Shari and November 23, 1939 for Jerry.
Jerry. his wife Shari, licensed nursing home administrators, and their son Kip, computer technology expert, also have owned three skilled nursing facilities and consulted with 140 nursing homes and managed four others during their 40 years specializing in nursing home operations and Government regulations concerning Medicare and Medicaid. The nursing homes were sold 2015 after restoring them and converting them to All-American Care Restorative Care Model. The plans for those projects are chronicled in Jerry and Shari’s books … The Boomer’s Are Coming, Failing Government Taketh Away, Health Care for All, America in the Red Zone, American Enterprise Manifesto, Americana a novel revisiting George Orwell’s 1984, Remedy Elder-cide, Retore Elder Pride, and five Wonders of the World poetry books.
What inspired you to write books:
Over 50% of all marriages (1.4 million per year) result in divorce. And 117 million Americans have at least one chronic disease diagnosis code. 25 % have 1 to 4 comorbidity chronic diseases. Also, the researchers have found that a happy marriage contributes to a longer, healthier, and stronger life. So, staying married is number one for aging healthy. The rest are related to life styles, without exercise, food selection and habits that cause an unhealthy immune system, susceptible to viruses such as Covid-19 and its variants.
Also, as a memoir, to commensurate our 63-year marriage, a one in million odds, and our real (biological) age score 20 years younger than our chronological age of 80+, we want to reveal our 12 marriage vows and habits that have enabled us to get this far. We hope it will be a template for relationships forming lifestyles that solve marital problems that lead to chronic aging.
Also, during the pandemic of 2020/21 the overall health of Americans is not good. Chronic disease and chronic aging are subjects we deal with in our book. Currently 117 million Americans suffer from one or more chronic illnesses traceable to aberrant lifestyles. Researches attribute better health to married couples who avoid behavioral problems linked to divorce. The 12 marriage vows and habits covered in the book are based on defining the root cause of the lifestyle problems and proposes 12 solutions for staying married and healthy getting happiness that Shari and I got over our 60+ years of marriage.
Who are your target audiences?
Adults who are contemplating marriage or divorce at any age. And to those who want to prevent or reverse chronic aging … defined as a real age that exceeds their chronological age due to aberrant lifestyles that lead to or cause chronic diseases and early death.
What are your favorite quotes from your books?
Think young, act young and be younger together. Our secret is based on “sex, kids and rock-n-roll”. Live life and marriage as if it’s forever after by making love our own reality.
Tell us about your books:
How in the world can we live forever since we are mortal? To that end, we reveal in the book, our 12 marriage vows and habits that have enabled us to get this far. We use our male and female voices to present our lifestyle and opinions that have extended our lives and love forever. Also, to be a mentor to those who aspire, as we have, to stay happily married forever after. Our goal is to break the 93-year marriage world’s record or die happy trying. The takeaway for any reader is to take our advice as a catalyst and template for staying married for a longer happier life.
Tell us something unique about you:
We have just celebrated our 63th wedding anniversary at the age of 81 (Shari) and 83 (Jerry) while authoring this memoir. Also, it’s to commensurate having four grown children, twelve grandchildren, eight great grandsons and three step great granddaughters. We have been in our own family health care accounting and consulting business for forty years including 140 skilled nursing facilities, owning three nursing homes and writing 17 books relating to government health care, and the pursuit of preventive care and preservative wellness.
What is the main message (or moral lesson, if there is one) you are trying to convey to your reader in your books?
We are what we think we are … if we approach everyday with positive marriage vows and/or healthful habits we will live longer and stronger. And we can measure our success by calculating our real age score in comparison to our chronological age … habits don’t lie when it comes to longevity. And our health and welfare are a privilege, that we have to earn with our lifestyle, and marriage regardless of gender.
What made you decide to become a writer?
My mother wrote poetry, my sister is a playwright, my son is a songwriter and my daughters’ writers for expressing their feelings. So, I have the birthright and the great family for inspiration and a business that required that I write for marketing our services. But my first poem was in eight grade and my first book 38 years ago was an accounting book for nursing homes. Since retiring from our health care business, Shari and I have teamed up to write five poetry books, nine health care books, one novel and now this memoir.
Other than the antagonist or protagonist, which character is your second favorite or the one you can relate most?
(Jerry) has been into How-to self-help books to overcome a negative childhood so it seemed like Shari and I should team up and coauthor our secret for dealing with the problem of 50% of marriages ending in divorce and 125 million Americans suffering from chronic disease. We both practice our marriage vows and healthy habits every day for living forever after. Our results speak loudly in 12 chapters as a Rhoads map for living longer forever after a marriage.
How long did it take for you to write these books?
They are a derivative of other business books and took 40 years to complete. However, this is merely a step toward a series of self-health books for dealing with America’s declining health, and welfare that the a failing government that cannot and should not take over. Currently, the situation is for them to taketh away what has been saved up by Social Security and Medicare Benefits.
Is there someone you would like to dedicate this book to?
Shari and I dedicate this to our family and friends we have made in our 80 years. It is in honor of the thousands of nursing home patients that we restored and sent home to live a better life as they age and love their families.
Secrets to Building a Happy-Healthy Marriage
(You probably haven’t heard before)
Every married couple of sound mind wants a successful marriage. But let’s face it: the path towards a happy marriage is not a cakewalk. It takes conscious effort from both ends to make a partnership work. Although this is the case, all the work you put in while building a happy marriage is worth it. You’ll be surprised how it can affect your life. To prove my point, you should know that one of the remarkable effects of a happy marriage to a person is a longer life.
Save your marriage and live a longer life with these 5 key ingredients to a happy marriage:
Commitment to Love
When you start to be with someone for a long time, you’ll start to understand that love is far more than a fleeting feeling—it is a commitment. Staying married is a decision you have to make every day. And along with this decision, is the commitment to love your partner through the good days and the bad.
Empathetic Communication
Healthy communication is one of the key characteristics of a happy marriage. When you communicate, you should do this out of love. Speak to your partner with empathy in your heart. Although you want your frustrations and concerns to be addressed right away, you should always take the side of your partner. Remember, not every mistake your partner makes is made to hurt you. Sometimes actions are made just out of mere carelessness or stupidity.
Sexy Time
Even when you’ve been with each other for a long time, you should never let the fire die. Sex may not be everything in a relationship, but successful relationships need intimacy. Set aside time to make love with your partner every once in a while. There’s a good reason why you and your partner are a married couple, not just best friends or roommates.
Fun
A serious relationship doesn’t mean uptight and boring. Keep your relationship fun by doing the things you enjoy together. Go out on a date at least once a week or have an adventure together. Take this time to enjoy each other’s company and not talk about problems. You may be an old couple, but that doesn’t mean you should take the fun out of the relationship. Have some concentrated time together. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just something that appeals to both of you.
Sense of Individuality
Successful marriages are achieved through teamwork. But you should never forget that you were once an individual before you became a couple. Yes, it’s crucial that you do things together and compromise when necessary—but don’t lose your sense of individuality. Have a life outside your relationship. Take some time away from your partner in a reasonable amount of time. You’ll be amazed at how independence breeds happiness in a relationship.
There is no fixed formula for a successful marriage. In fact, experts found out that only 1 out of 600,000 marriages last for 60 years. You can learn more about this in the book my spouse and I co-wrote, How To Live Forever. Incorporate the tips listed above, and read about the vows and habits healthy couples’ practice to live longer and be in a relationship forever.
