The Preacher’s Wife and the Baker’s Wife
They sat across from us, giggling, the preacher’s wife and the baker’s wife. They were telling us stories from their lives; snapshots, moments from earlier days. This reminiscence session came about as we were working with a series of small … Continue reading
Words and Music
The famous composer, Richard Rogers, often said that it drove him nuts when people would ask him the ubiquitous question: “Mr. Rogers, what comes first, the music or the words?” Richard Rogers knew (better than most) that the words and … Continue reading
A Day in the Life
Our first book, You Say Goodbye and We Say Hello: The Montessori Method for Positive Dementia Care has recently been published and is now for sale. It is a very exciting time for us. The book is the end result … Continue reading
The Gift of Caregiving
How you live with dementia depends completely on your own attitude. We cannot change the condition itself, but we can change how we approach this enormous challenge in our lives. We are still in a relationship, even a partnership with … Continue reading
Tom and Karen’s Story
The couple, a man and woman, stood just outside the door of the Scandinavian Home, arguing. The autumn leaves from the towering elms on the grounds of the nursing home swirled around their feet as the cold wind snatched their … Continue reading
The Storied Memory
When we began creating short stories for people living with dementia to read aloud, we were surprised by the journey that this simple exercise created. As people began reading our prepared stories, they started telling us stories from their own … Continue reading
Let It Be
Easy to say; really, really hard to do. Does the idea of letting go mean that we are giving up, that this is all there is, that things will never be better, that we just have to sigh, shrug our … Continue reading
An Alzheimer’s Valentine
We were impossibly young and so beautifulWhen we met and fell in love. You were the cool guy from the big cityI was the shy small town girl. I bring you photographs of those days long agoYou look and smile … Continue reading
My Hero
*[This story is based on many people we have met during our memory support work. It is fiction but grounded in the reality of Alzheimer’s.] I wish there was someone I could talk to about this. Everyone here is very … Continue reading
Some Tips to Help Celebrate the Holidays
One of the best ideas I ever heard for helping caregivers was from Denise Brown (the creator of the web site, Caregiving!). Denise encourages her readers to create a “Job Jar.” She asks caregivers to write on slips of … Continue reading
