An advocate for older adults, Missy Buchanan is a sought-after author and speaker on issues of aging faithfully, drawing first from her personal experience as a caregiver for her own aging parents. She has appeared several times on Good Morning America with co-anchor Robin Roberts who describes Missy as “the rare soul that understands, truly understands, older adults: their fears, struggles and hopes.” Missy was also the co-author of Robin Robert’s mother Lucimarian Roberts’ memoir, My Story, My Song.
With thousands of followers on Twitter/ X and Facebook, Missy provides daily insight about the journey of aging. In May 2023, she was asked to share input for the BARNA research group’s Aging Well report on ministering to and with older adults. She has been a presenter for the American Society on Aging’s national conference in addition to being a guest on many podcasts, radio and television shows, including WFAA in the Dallas area, encouraging and challenging older adults to use their late lives well.
Missy has penned eleven books on faithful aging for Upper Room Books. Many of her titles can be found earmarked on bedside tables in senior living communities, also on the shelves of church leaders across the theological spectrum who look to Missy for ways to better minister to and with older adults. Her book Beach Calling: A Devotional Journal for the Middle Years and Beyond quickly achieved #1 New Release Christian Devotional on Amazon. Some of her other books, including From Dry Bones to Living Hope, have become the foundation for older adult discussion groups across the nation. Her latest book, Feeling Your Way Through Grief, has stirred up national interest in response to an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.
Missy has been a speaker at hundreds of churches, senior living communities and aging conferences, including the largest United Methodist Church in the United States– UM Church of the Resurrection in Leawood KS, Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network national conferences, Wesley Homes in Seattle WA, Lynchburg College Conference on Aging in VA, the Festival of Wisdom and Grace at Lake Junaluska NC, Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano TX, the Towers on Park Lane in San Antonio TX, and multiple Methodist Retirement Communities. Missy has also been a featured speaker aboard cruises for Educational Opportunities Tours as she continues to deliver messages about caregiving and faithful aging across the denominational divide.
In 2023, Missy became a widow after the sudden death of her beloved husband Barry. In mid-2024, she decided to leave behind her community of over 40 years– Rockwall TX, to continue her journey through grief and late life by building a cottage-home in the Texas Hill Country near her son’s family, allowing her more time with three of her four grandchildren. Even as she establishes roots in a new community and church, she will continue to teach, serve and interact with older adults in her area. And she will still travel to speak across the nation; she will just be flying out of AUS instead of DFW.