about abigail

Abigail Trafford — author, journalist and public speaker — focuses on the new stage of the life cycle after midlife but before traditional old age. Her book — My Time: Making the Most of the Bonus Decades after 50, (Basic Books in 2004, Paperback 2005) chronicles the social revolution of living longer, healthier lives. In her Washington Post column, entitled My Time, she explores the potential in this new stage for both individuals and society. She has been a commentator on health and social issues for Washington Post Radio, host of an online “health talk” program and syndicated columnist with Universal Press syndicate. She gave a keynote address at the White House Conference on aging in 2005.

An award-winning journalist, Trafford has covered a range of stories from the landings on the moon and the shooting of President Ronald Reagan to the emergence of AIDS, the politics of abortion, the downfall of President Clinton’s health coverage initiative and the rise of genetics and managed care. For 14 years she was the Post’s Health Editor. Under her guidance, the Health Section won 10 Penney-Missouri Awards for excellence in feature journalism. Previously she worked at U.S. News & World Report as writer, senior editor and assistant managing editor.

Trafford began her career as a researcher for the National Geographic. She covered the Apollo space program in Houston as a special correspondent for Time magazine and The Washington Post. She was also a teacher at the Finke River Mission for aborigines in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Trafford is the author of Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life, (1982, revised 1994). She has a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She received a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health in 1982 and 2002 and was a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity, Stanford University, in 2007. She lives in Washington, D.C. and Vinalhaven, ME.