Recording your life story can be a powerful experience. So can helping someone else record theirs.
For people facing progressive dementia, discussing and sharing life lessons can mean even more. As they record their hard-earned knowledge, people living with dementia also lay a kind of roadmap of the most significant and defining moments in their lives.
This is important because dementia often eats away at memories in a predictable pattern.
Recording your life story can be a powerful experience. So can helping someone else record theirs.
We talk about a “narrowing window” on childhood. That’s when someone with memory loss retains older memories but not more recent ones. A lot of times the most resilient memories that all of us make are in the times we define ourselves as individuals, usually as teens and younger adults. New experiences make the strongest memories, and you have more new experiences at younger ages age, too.
If you have progressive dementia in your life (your’s or a loved one’s), this is important knowledge. It’s the reason you want to start recording a life story as soon as you can.
In future posts we’ll discuss Reminiscence Therapy and other ways that you can draw from a life story. But today I want to focus on how to get started.
How to record a life history
StoryCorps provides a great (free) public service by helping us to record our stories. Even better, they have tons of advice that you can use to record your own or interview a loved one.
- First, you can go to StoryCorps’ Do-It Yourself Interviews Guide. Although it’s targeted for people who are making audio recordings of their interviews, it’s completely alright to “record” a life story with written notes.
- You can view this video of interview tips while there
- You can download a PDF from StoryCorps at Download the Do-It-Yourself Instruction Guide.
- The Great Questions List has general questions that anyone could use, as well as suggestions depending on the relationship between the interviewer and interviewee. They really get you thinking, and there are no wrong answers. Here are a few to start with:
Great questions for anyone:
- What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
- Who was the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
- Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
- Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
- The Questions Generator will e-mail you a customized list of questions based on your selections.
About StoryCorps
From the StoryCorps website, “Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 35,000 interviews from more than 70,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our broadcasts on our Listen page and on public radio.
THE STORYCORPS MOBILEBOOTH: A MobileBooth is an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio that travels the country year-round collecting stories.
“StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.
“Our mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.”
“We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, strengthen and build the connections between people, teach the value of listening, and weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that every life matters. At the same time, we will create an invaluable archive of American voices and wisdom for future generations.
“In the coming years we will build StoryCorps into an enduring institution that will touch the lives of every American family….” Read more at StoryCorps.org
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Having a conversation with my parents was one of the first things that vanished so I started to bring them questions to learn more about their life. I recently wrote about doing this, and having my daughter (who is 9) take over and start asking questions of Nana and Pop Pop. It’s a great way to make the most of the time if your loved one has dementia. Here was my recent blog on a similiar topic!
http://dealingwithdementia.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/help-comes-from-the-most-unusual-places/
Kay,
Thank you so much for sharing your post. How wonderful that your daughter is interested in learning about your parents!
One thing that you said in your “Help Comes from the Most Unusual Places” post really struck me: “I have set my sites on making sure that every day is valuable – not just the ones before short-term memory loss and dementia strike.”
That’s such a great perspective. I know it must be hard as anything a lot of the time, but you’re doing so much to help and inspire others…thank you!
Best,
Jennie Lynn
Thanks for the note. Today was a hard day. I will be sharing once I figure out how to even put it into words.
Much appreciated!
– Kay
, read between the lines. Anybody can anonsmouyly make accusations, lives can be destroyed, because when you are accused you are treated as guilty until proven innocent. And that is a true shame.