Reminiscing, or telling your life stories to others, especially in a group setting, has been studied intensely during the twentieth century and was found to be of great benefit to seniors.
Over the aeons of time, we humans have always deferred to the senior, wise members of our tribe or clan who were able to provide wisdom and advice from both personal and passed down anecdotes.
Listening to grandparents tell the stories of their lives has always fascinated young children and they also learned about the social skills and family knowledge they needed to become well adjusted adults.
These were the stories of adventure, of making a new start in a new country (often unable to speak the new language), of the deep bonds of love forged through hard times and The Depression, of the bonds of mateship formed by men fighting for their country and many other aspects of everyday living.
But times are vastly different in this new millennium, due in a large part to the massive growth of technology and the distances some families face when seeking work.
This means that many families live in different states or even countries from their grandparents and rely on sending gran or pop a quick text message rather than enjoying her or his stories around the table at Sunday lunch.
Our members use technology to reconnect families through their stories. Depending on whether it is a book or film, once published or uploaded and shared online, family members can read, hear or see the family story no matter where they are in the world.
Storytellers cherish the fact that they will be remembered, heard and seen when they are gone. Grandchildren hear stories of times beyond their comprehension and their parents gain insights into why things in their childhood turned out the way they did.
Memories matter.
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