NEW YORK — In a Midtown hotel suite, Sarah Jessica Parker is smiling as she enters the room. A week earlier, the “Sex and the City” icon received the Carol Burnett Award, given to a person who has made outstanding contributions to television on or off screen, at the inaugural Golden Eve celebration on Jan. 6. But the star isn’t here to talk about TV.
Parker, 60, wants to speak about reading and aging. And how, for her, those two things have become intertwined. She first noticed changes to her vision while reading in bed while she was in Ireland.
“I just recall that particular moment… just recognizing that your eyes weren’t doing what they had always done so well and so beautifully,” she says.
Everyday tasks also became more challenging: looking at menus, texting and reading instructions while cooking.
She visited the eye doctor and discovered that she was experiencing age-related blurry vision, a condition that affects nearly all middle-aged adults, according to the American Optometric Association. This normal change in the eyes’ focusing ability, called presbyopia, can start in the early to mid-40s and progress until age 60. It proved frustrating for Parker, an avid reader, actress and on-the-go mother.
