Documenting and preserving individual client histories has always been a passion of our staff. These narratives are illuminating and offer delightful windows into a client’s past and present, providing a framework for personally tailoring care options, goals, enrichment, outings, and activities.
Many stories naturally lend themselves to preservation in the form of a journal, photo album, audio recordings, shadowbox, letters, or collage.
Stories Shared Along the Way
Our colleague Gail Schultz, who celebrates 14 years as a Creative Engagement Specialist at Aging Wisdom, started to gather gems of insights and reflections from client visits early in her work here. One example is a client we’ll call Peg. Gail shares, “As you get to know a client, they become more comfortable letting you into their lives, sharing the most amazing stories and insights. I feel it’s important to capture that.”
Gail got into the habit of writing down these stories immediately after each visit with Peg. Eventually, she transcribed them into a booklet entitled 100 Things About Peg, which included stories of travel, jobs, raising her family, living through the Great Depression, the changes she witnessed in Seattle during her lifetime, including the excitement of the 1962 World’s Fair. After Peg died, Gail presented the booklet to Peg’s daughter as a gift, which was used in Peg’s celebration of life and has become a cherished family history.
Many of these stories are also shared in abbreviated form through visit summaries that are sent to families following each client session.
Celebration of Life
Our colleague Sonia Gilman had a client who lived a robust life as a diplomat, was a voracious reader, traveled widely, and spoke several languages fluently. Together they would sing, paint with watercolors, read poetry, exchange conversation in Spanish, French, and English, and enjoy coffee and treats. This client’s diplomatic reminiscing was legendary. Sonia captured these beautiful elements of Terry’s life in a shadowbox. The shadowbox included pictures of the client at different chapters in her life, her rosary, a copy of a favorite poem, and other mementos.
History and Positive Impact
Our colleague Salem Spinelli has a client with whom they are engaged in a living history project. The project includes researching and collecting a chronology of Seattle history in which the client was involved and made an impact. The research includes personal narratives, pictures, and other ephemera that are being thoughtfully assembled in a memory book which the client proudly reviews and shares with friends and family as new chapters are added.
These are just a few examples of the opportunities our team encounters each day to celebrate, learn about, engage, and help capture the vibrant lives and legacy of clients.
Benefit for the client
Life is filled with joy, sorrow, and lessons learned. Those unique life moments are meant to be shared. Reminiscence and life review can boost confidence and self-esteem by helping individuals to see their lives in a more positive light.
Aging Wisdom’s The Legacy of a Life facilitates celebrating the colorful kaleidoscope of life experiences. Life review offers a conduit to reconnecting to a sense of purpose and value in the community.
Legacy of a Life is project-based and one-on-one, tailored to the client’s interests, strengths, and experiences, facilitated by a trained engagement specialist. Project ideas include scrapbooks, memoir journaling, shadowboxes, video diaries, photo albums, letters to loved ones, or a curated custom project of your choosing.
A Creative Engagement Specialist initiates the project with a Legacy assessment. This helps to build communication and relationship and aids the Specialist in getting to know the participant on a more personal level, as well as developing the project vision. The Legacy projects reflect your life stories, interests, and perspectives. It can involve life events, biographical information, personal accomplishments, knowledge, faith beliefs, and more. The purpose is to pass on your life’s legacy in a way that communicates value, emotion, and meaning.
