Page 3 - Storytelling - Storylistening

Acknowledgements
First and foremost, our sincere thanks to Cynthia Barnard, Elder Life Specialist and Volunteer Coordinator at Maine Medical Center, and former instructor and Activities Therapist at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. Through illness and hectic work schedules, Cynthia provided many of the activity ideas presented herein, directed us to additional resources and helped with copy editing.
Cynthia in turn credits the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the Dartmouth Medical School, where many of these same activities have been refined and implemented.
Our warm thanks also to Terry Asla of I, Witness to History; David Greenberger, author, Duplex Planet: Everybody’s Asking Who I Was; Kay Lindahl, author, Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening, and founder of The Listening Center; Wendy Lustbader, author, What’s Worth Knowing; and Barbara Spring, cofounder of Life’s End Institute at the Missoula Demonstration Project in Montana – each graciously took time out of their busy lives to personally interview with us. (Additional stories on Greenberger and Lustbader are posted in the featured articles section of the Action Pact web site, www.culturechangenow.com)
We are very grateful for the guidance provided by the research and writings of psychology professors Howard Thorsheim, PhD, and Bruce Roberts, PhD, coauthors of I Remember When: Activity Ideas to Help People Reminisce; by professional storyteller/educator Richard Stone’s The Healing Art of Storytelling: A Sacred Journey of Personal Discovery; by Anne Basting, creator of TimeSlips and director of the Center on Aging and Community, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and by Dr. Barry Baines, one of the nation’s leading experts on writing ethical wills.
As this publication scarcely scratches the surface of the myriad of ways to encourage reminiscing and storytelling, we hope you will take the opportunity to more fully explore the many web sites and additional publications listed on this and the following pages.
About the Author
Keith Schaeffer has worked as writer and organizer on human rights, environmental and social justice issues since 1978. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and lives in Tucson, AZ, where he is Senior Writer for Culture Change Now, the well-known magazine on culture change in long term care, published by Action Pact. Visit www.culturechangenow.com for more information and stories.
©Action Pact, Inc.2005-2006 Porch Swing SeriesTM Culture Change Workbooks