Often people look back after it is too late to capture their memories and wish they had written down more about themselves or shared more about their personal life’s journey. As young children, many enjoy listening to a grandparent tell stories of the past, and recent movies like “Still Alice” and the documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” are making everyone realize the importance of capturing such meaningful memories, whether in videos or written documents. The Stayton at Museum Way retirement community in Fort Worth wants to help its residents ensure their personal memories and family history are not forgotten over the years, so the staff recently began offering classes on campus to teach them how to write down the stories of their lives. The classes are for residents at all levels of care, from independent living to those in memory support, and help them explore life lessons learned, details about their own parents, significant memories and personal values. The residents determine how to log these memories so that family members can hold on to such details about their heritage for years to come.
The Stayton’s lifestyles director, Amy Janak, meets with residents once a week to help them reflect on their lives and discuss what details should be included in their personal autobiographies. One participating resident, Cheryl Dobbs, thinks of her children and grandchildren as she writes about her life and background. After surviving a car accident and a coma, Dobbs struggles with short- and long-term memory problems. She has come to realize the importance of documenting life memories for her own sake and for future generations.
“I have found the group meetings and the writing process to be incredibly intriguing and eye-opening,” said Dobbs. “I thought about checking into something like this before, but it seemed very tedious and I didn’t feel I had the time to tackle it. Doing this as a group activity at The Stayton with discussions and the types of questions we all ponder in our LifeBio™ booklets has helped me focus on making this more of an unbelievable story-telling process, not just a listing of dates and facts. It has opened so many doors for me to explore about myself and about my own parents, and it’s really been fun.”
The Stayton uses the LifeBio™ website and materials to offer multiple options of journal booklets for the residents to use: one helps them take an in-depth look at their pasts; a second option is slightly more condensed for those in memory support so as not to overwhelm them; and another version is tailored for a veteran’s reflections. The concept of writing one’s life story can be daunting to many, so this class offered at The Stayton is meant to help the residents recall memories in small portions at a time and capture stories of their past that have shaped them into who they are today.
“I think the entire process of writing out a life bio helps people tap into memories that have been tucked away or taken for granted. It can bring about a true sense of purpose and lead to fascinating family discoveries as well as self-exploration in many regards,” said Janak. “I personally am learning so much about our residents and am excited to help them preserve their memories and wisdom.”
Janak offers the residents sample entries and discusses specific writing prompts or thought-provoking questions through the LifeBio™ resources that help residents reflect on personal experiences they don’t think about day-to-day. She has provided booklets for the residents and encourages them to discuss topics during group meetings and outside of the meetings with family and friends. The ongoing conversations help generate more ideas and content for their life bios.
“This is such an important and truly beneficial experience for everyone involved,” said Scott Polzin, executive director of The Stayton. “It is greatly appreciated by the family members and friends, but it’s just as valuable for the individuals doing the reminiscing and writing to have a chance to reflect on and analyze certain pieces of their lives. It gives the residents the opportunity to think about what they want others to remember in the future and why.”
About 10 residents regularly join for the group meetings on Tuesday afternoons at The Stayton currently, and the residents and staff members hope that more decide to try it and start journaling about their lives in this way.