My 2026 Word of the Year: UNITE

by Karen Patterson

It’s time to unite.

To shine our light.

Yes, and join the fight

To do what’s right

With all our might.

Yes, and time to cross that line—

To admit we are not “fine.”

With your stories and mine,

Memories traced along the third base line.

Unite is the word I’ve chosen for 2026. It comes from unity—a state in which we are at our best. Unity means connection, understanding, and love, our most powerful force and emotion. Love was my word for 2025, and what I learned is this: love is only possible when we unite.

The opposite is isolation—a dark, lonely place where fear and hatred grow. Life is full of lines we’re asked to face or cross: borders, boundaries, expectations, invisible thresholds. Like the line at a grocery store where my left leg decides to freeze to the floor. Or the line on a Monopoly board that with the roll of a dice will land you in jail unable to pass go and collect that precious fake $200. 

For me, one line has carried special meaning throughout my life—the third base line.

I spent much of my youth watching Oakland A’s games with my parents, sitting nine rows behind the dugout, eyes fixed on that chalked line. It was a place of focus and imagination. Where my teenage mind had time to dream big dreams. I wish my mom and dad were alive to celebrate Boys of Summer: Third Base , which will premiere at the World Parkinson’s Congress this May. That gathering—where people with Parkinson’s from around the world will unite—feels like a continuation of everything that line once represented.

My path to storytelling was not a straight one. I am much younger than my siblings. Born from a later in life pregnancy, I faced health, speech, and coordination challenges they didn’t. My parents, older and managing health struggles of their own, wanted my life plan settled as fast as possible. When it came time to choose a future, I faced two options: pursue college and writing—a risky dream—or attend trade school while still in high school. I chose cosmetology. I became the person behind the scenes, doing hair and stage makeup, quietly holding onto the hope that one day I’d step into the light.

That hope never left.

Years later, I found myself in a Cinema Therapy class, writing my first screenplay,  Diamond Pitch . I had never written a screenplay before. Baseball felt like something buried in my past. And yet, as I got braver, the story poured out of me. Sitting with Dan and Robert Cochrane at the final A’s game in Oakland—forty years after those childhood afternoons—something shifted. We cried. We celebrated. Long-held dreams and shared grief met at that third base line. United, we added new memories to an old place. It felt like home. 

For too long, people with Parkinson’s disease have been misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and marginalized. We need more funding and attention for programs that address not only the physical symptoms of PD, but also its emotional and psychosocial impact. Traditional therapy and support groups offer connection, but often fall short of treating the whole person. This is where Cinema Therapy fills a vital gap—using improv and storytelling to help people uncover parts of themselves that have been hidden or silenced.

Parkinson’s diagnoses continue to rise. The number of people affected is expected to double in the next 20 years. Yet meaningful action—on research, environmental factors, and quality of life are left on a back burner. This makes me angry. We cannot ignore the growing evidence around toxic chemicals or sacrifice future generations because unity feels hard or uncomfortable. 

Time and energy are precious resources for people with PD. We don’t have the luxury of division. Yes, and it's an incredibly selfish waste of time to pretend it’s ok. 

So what does it mean to unite?

It means listening—to experts like Drs. Michael Okun and Ray Dorsey, and to the lived experiences of people with Parkinson’s.It means standing together within our community.It means sharing our whole stories, as we do through Cinema Therapy and our Success Stories™, so every facet of this disease is seen and understood.

Change isn’t supposed to be easy. Nothing worth fighting for ever is. Yes, and our quality of life is worth making the hard choices that bring forth change. 

As the saying goes:

United we stand. Divided we fall.

If we keep dividing the team, we risk losing it all.

Our stories hold power. Our voices matter. And together, we hold the future in our hands.

Today is the day we unite—to make life better right now, and to fight for a future without Parkinson’s disease. I invite you to join me. Step into our safe and brave space. Let your light shine. Become one of our Success Stories™.

Yes, and let’s do this—together. 💗