It wasn’t that long ago that “people believed that reminiscing was a sign of senility—what we now call Alzheimer’s disease,” wrote Robert N. Butler (Kunz 2007). After working with healthy volunteers for 11 years, in 1961 Butler “postulated the existence of the life review as a normal function of the later years and not a pathological condition. Memories, reminiscence, and nostalgia all play a part in the process.
"Far from living in the past or wandering, as was thought, older people were engaged in the important psychological task of coming to terms with the life they had lived. They sought to make amends for acts of omission and commission, resolve conflicts, and reconcile alienated relationships.”
Although some aspects of brain function do decrease as we age, Gene D. Cohen says the “older brain is more resilient, adaptable, and capable than we thought.” When we’re young, for example, we tend to favour one side of the brain over the other. In the second half of life we tend to integrate the hemispheres.
Autobiography engages both sides of the brain and as we age we have a stronger impulse to tell our life story —not only because storytelling and reminiscence are part of the natural work of elders, but also because they “become appealing ways of giving back—sharing what we have learned” (Cohen 2007).
But writing your own life story is a difficult and daunting process so why not let author Rebecca Skinner do it for you? It will stimulate your brain and be a wonderful legacy to leave for future generations.
"Far from living in the past or wandering, as was thought, older people were engaged in the important psychological task of coming to terms with the life they had lived. They sought to make amends for acts of omission and commission, resolve conflicts, and reconcile alienated relationships.”
Although some aspects of brain function do decrease as we age, Gene D. Cohen says the “older brain is more resilient, adaptable, and capable than we thought.” When we’re young, for example, we tend to favour one side of the brain over the other. In the second half of life we tend to integrate the hemispheres.
Autobiography engages both sides of the brain and as we age we have a stronger impulse to tell our life story —not only because storytelling and reminiscence are part of the natural work of elders, but also because they “become appealing ways of giving back—sharing what we have learned” (Cohen 2007).
But writing your own life story is a difficult and daunting process so why not let author Rebecca Skinner do it for you? It will stimulate your brain and be a wonderful legacy to leave for future generations.
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