Maureen McGovern Speaks out About Living With Alzheimer’s Disease

Singer Maureen McGovern is not giving up hope, even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The performer, best known for recording the Oscar-winning 1973 hit “The Morning After,” is now living by the lyrics in her signature song. In a new interview with PEOPLE, McGovern, 73,said music is still central to her life even if she can no longer perform on stage.

“It’s not too late,” McGovern told PEOPLE, quoting from “The Morning After.” “There’s hope. Don’t give up,” she said. “That’s my mantra. Don’t give up.”

McGovern told fans in August that she would no longer perform on stage after she was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, which includes symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. After she received the news, she “struggled with the inevitable shock with fear and frankly hopelessness,” McGovern wrote. She has a different outlook today though, as she leads an active life at a Columbus, Ohio retirement community with a circle of friends and family supporting her. “I truly, truly do believe I’ve been blessed with so many things,” she told PEOPLE.

McGovern’s younger sister Patt Sweeney lives nearby to help her keep her life organized. Arranger and accompanyist Michael Shirtz has also offered her help, assisting in recording an album of children’s songs. Sweeney and Shirtz assured fans that McGovern’s iconic voice is still vibrant as ever.

“There was never an ‘oh woe is me,’ or ‘how sad is this,’” Shirtz said. “There was a conversation and an excitement about, ‘OK, so we can’t do this, but here’s what we’re going to do, and let’s figure it out.’ That just comes from her spirit.”

The singer shot to sudden fame in 1973, when her recording of “The Morning After” was featured in the hit disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure and won an Oscar for Best Original Song. She also recorded another Oscar-winner, The Towering Inferno‘s “We May Never Love Like This Again” in 1974. Her song “Different Worlds” was also used as the theme for ABC’s Angie. In 1980, she hilariously appeared as the singing nun Sister Angelina in Airplane!, a spoof of the disaster movies that made her famous.

During the 1980s, McGovern headed to Broadway and continued recording with her beloved voice and eclectic mix of songs. She continued performing until the COVID-19 lockdown. She began forgetting lyrics about five years ago and often used notebooks while performing. After several tests, she was finally diagnosed in 2021.

Although she is no longer performing, McGovern remains dedicated to music and her family. She is close to her sister’s three children and seven grandchildren. “I don’t fear dying, particularly,” McGovern told PEOPLE. “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.”