Lifestyle S E N I O R
LIVING
The Power of Storytelling Written by D A N A P E V E L E R . Executive Director of Senior Living—Leisure Living Communities
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hile everyone else was asleep, I sat wrapped in a blanket, looking out at a glassy lake, mulling over how I would record the past week’s family vacation memories. Click click click ... click … click click click click click … The sound of someone pressing keys on an old typewriter nudged me … That’s it! I’ll ask everyone to write down their favorite memories of the week and send them to me. I’ll combine them, then pass them along! We can add to it every year! *Boom!* I forget until I’m with my relatives, just how funny they are. The stories some newly told, some re-told classics; all flawlessly delivered. With each new addition comes another opportunity to share stories about the crazy family the newest member signed into. A few years ago, I noticed how my kids listened motionless to my dad share the story of my mom plunging completely under water at Rough River thinking it was knee-deep because it was “so clear!”
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She’d spent the whole day trying to keep her hair dry for dinner later that evening only to have it destroyed at the boat ramp on our way home. My dad may or may not have already known how deep it was … we’ll never know for sure. What I do know is that my kids were anxious to hear more! These oral accounts bring to life our family’s history. It gives insight into who our parents and grandparents were before we came to know them. Often, it has surprised me with how far we’ve come as a state, and even a country; for example, listening to my granddad share how he remembered mail being delivered via a hook on a platform next to the tracks as a train’s mail car passed by. Oral accounts, or storytelling, have been used as far back as time, within every culture, in many forms. Traditions, values, genealogy, history, tall tales, secrets, all shared through song, dance, poems, drawings, writings, and more. I’m sure that through the years, the
stories became less accurate over time, but they still served to create connections to culture. In Western Africa, storytellers were called griots; in Ireland, seanchaí; in medieval British and Gaelic, a bard or minstrel; in Western Kentucky, fisherman. (Okay, that last one’s not real!) Each of their roles are integral to their societies. We may not need to tell stories to record history today, but storytelling continues to serve a valuable purpose. As we age, storytelling creates an opportunity to reminisce, reduces stress and depression, helps to reinforce one’s value, can improve memory, and can certainly increase mood. How can we facilitate storytelling with our loved ones? Start by asking them prompting questions like:
What was your favorite thing to do as a kid? Any holiday traditions that you
