Maureen McGovern has opened up about how she is learning to live with Alzheimer’s disease.
Earlier this year, the 73-year-old singer revealed that she had been diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy with symptoms of Alzheimer’s. She told fans that she could no longer travel or perform in live concerts.
In a new interview, McGovern shared that her optimistic mantra for coping with the disease is: “Don’t give up”.
“You just go one day at a time,” she told People. "Every day is a day to make it better.”
She added: “I truly, truly do believe I’ve been blessed with so many things.”
Her younger sister, Patt Sweeney, lives nearby her home in a Columbus retirement community.
McGovern is also supported by longtime friends and associates, including accompanist Michael Shirtz, to assist her in recording a project of children’s songs, among her other musical passions.
McGovern said that her joy comes from her family and a large circle of friends who support her.
“I don’t fear dying, particularly,” McGovern said.. “I just want to make sure I get all of what I can out of living. Whatever’s out there, we don’t know. So you just have to start singing.”
McGovern’s famously nicknamed “Stradivarius voice” is kept vibrant through regular vocal exercises and warmups.
The singer said in the interview that music remains at the centre of her life. She apparently listens to a constant rotation of music while at home and often sings along to the lyrics.
In the 1980s, McGovern starred in Broadway shows as Pirates of Penzance, Nine and Little Women, as well as touring internationally as a solo singer.
She is well known for her 1973 rendition of the song Oscar-winning song “The Morning After”.
