Carly Simon broke her silence Monday in a statement provided to multiple outlets, explaining the public absence that fans had been quietly worrying about for months and revealing two simultaneous health challenges she has been navigating privately. She is 83 years old. She has Parkinson's disease.
She also recently had basal cell carcinoma removed from her face. She is still here.
"So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing," Simon wrote. "The truth is, I've been learning how to live with Parkinson's disease."
The path to her diagnosis began with arthritis in both knees and one hip, three joint replacement surgeries that did not resolve her mobility problems.
Her family suspected something more was happening. An extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic confirmed it. "My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's," she said. She has begun medication to address stiffness and other symptoms.
She described the emotional dimension with a line that has already spread widely: "It is as though the part of the brain that sends out invitations to participate in life has temporarily misplaced the guest list."
The cancer surgery affected her appearance and added self-consciousness to the physical challenges. "Between my mobility issues, the Parkinson's diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction."
But she closed with what she wanted people to know: "I have not stopped living and I have not stopped working. I am still very much here."