The Nun Study is a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Interesting, useful, scientific data has been collected from the 15 year observation of 678 nuns. This NY Times article presents a few of the findings; one result “Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings from the Nun Study” is being published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The nuns participating in the study belong to the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and one of the convents is right up the street from the house I grew up in. I went to summer camp there and my mother worked there as a nurse’s aide. I remember wondering at the mystery of why my swim instructor wore a wedding ring, since all I really understood at the time was that nuns didn’t get married (after seeing a few movies with the marriage to Jesus ceremony later on, I figured it out). It’s wonderful that the sisters agreed to participate in this rather invasive study. Their generosity will certainly reap great fruit for the rest of us who are much less prepared to meet our maker.