International Perspectives on Reminiscence, Life Review and Life Story Work

This book will be invaluable, for its theoreticalunderpinnings as well as personal stories and practice-based guidance.However, the book’s overarching focus on the stories that we all tell toourselves and others about past, present and future throughout ourlives means that it may well also appeal to a wider readership than moretraditionally narrow interpretations of ‘reminiscence’ or ‘life story work’might suggest.

* Journal of Practice Teaching & Learning *This forensically detailed book gets to the DNA of reminiscence and life review, combining reports of research studies with accounts of the application of different approaches in practice. It will be particularly useful for scholars and practitioners interested in the theory of reminiscence, drawing as it does on studies concerning the rationale and benefits of making sense of our lives, linking past to present and reconciling previous experiences. – Ruth Eley, Dementia Action LiverpoolRead this book. The multiple perspectives are inviting, relevant, comprehensive, insightful, needed, scholarly and yet personal. – Professor Bruce A. Stevens, Charles Sturt University, Australia and author of the Storied Self

Bob Woods is an Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology of Older People at Bangor University, Wales, UK. For over 40 years he combined clinical work in the NHS with research which has helped to develop and evaluate psychosocial interventions for people with dementia and their carers, including cognitive stimulation and reminiscence work.

Elizabeth MacKinlay is a registered nurse and an Anglican priest. She is Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies at St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra, and a Professor in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University. Elizabeth was Chair of the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing in 2008 and is the ACT Senior Australian of the Year for 2009.

Christine Bryden has worked in the pharmaceutical industry and as a senior executive in the Australian Prime Minister’s Department. Following her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1995, she has been instrumental in setting up local support groups for people with dementia and has addressed national and international conferences. In 2003 she was the first person with dementia to be elected to the Board of Alzheimer’s Disease International. Her first book Who will I be when I die? was published in 1998 and has been translated into several languages. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Pam Schweitzer founded Age Exchange Theatre Trust in 1983. It was the first full-time professional theatre company to specialise in touring reminiscence theatre across the UK and Europe and Pam remained its Artistic Director until 2005. In 2000 she was awarded the MBE for services to Reminiscence and she continues to direct the European Reminiscence Network, lecturing, directing and training in reminiscence and related fields. She is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Greenwich.