I recently read an article from Harvard Medical School about the health benefits of writing your life story or memoir. The article says that as we age we tend to feel less relevant—we retire from jobs that may have given us a strong sense of purpose and we can become isolated from family, friends and […]
A few weeks after receiving a Public Service Medal honouring his contribution to human rights policy and law in Australia during his 26 years at the Human Rights Commission, David Mason resigned. Resigned from an organisation that for a quarter of a century fulfilled his need to secure greater social justice for marginalised groups of […]
I bumped into my former cello teacher, Heather Stratfold, at a Bach concert a few months ago and she told me about her struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome. She eventually gave up on mainstream medicine and decided to heal herself and she is keen to let other people with the condition know it is possible […]
‘I woke up suddenly, jolted upright at 4.30am on 28 December 2015, with an idea,’ Madeleine Easton, a baroque violinist says. ‘I’m going to set up a Bach orchestra in Australia.’ I’d lived and worked in Europe for 17 years, performing with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the English Baroque Soloists, directing the Bach Cantata series […]
A few weeks after receiving a Public Service Medal honouring his contribution to human rights policy and law in Australia during his 26 years at the Human Rights Commission, David Mason was faced with a stark choice— work for a new manager who he believed lacked the knowledge and skills to do the job competently— […]
To misquote the Beatles, ‘30 Years Ago Today’ 1988 was Australia’s Bi-centennial year, making 2018 an ideal time for some reverse time travel through your lifetime memories. As a personal historian who first interviewed 100 aged care residents about their early days as a Bi-centennial project, that year is significant to me as I have […]
So you want a book about your never-before-told experiences? You’ve decided to bare it all, everything you’ve been through or deprived of, every way you’ve been treated, mistreated, and suffered is about to be aired publicly. Your friends and family are about to see the real you, warts and all. I once wrote an essay based […]
‘The difference between eating well and eating poorly is only a couple of dollars. And the difference between writing well and writing poorly is only a few minutes.’ I made this statement to a bunch of people in a writing class a few years ago and, as expected, earned a sea of wide eyes. But […]
Coming alongside older people in their last days to listen to their story is a humbling experience and an enormous privilege. For the most part families are supportive, helpful and are excited for what the process will produce. Just occasionally though, where there is unresolved hurt and grief, families can be resistant and unhelpful. I […]
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