A Feast for the Senses
Nibble on a Few Extras
CHAPTER SEVEN: Grow Together through Nature
Dig into Your Own Natural Resources
Snuggle Up with the Warm Puppy Solution
Connect with Chickens and Dogs and Llamas
Plant Tomatoes and Grow Relationships
Harvest Happiness through Volunteer Farming
Think Outside the House
Go Outdoors and Build Brain Health
Blossom with Flower Power
CHAPTER EIGHT: Engage Imagination with Movies, Puppets, Clowns, and a Dash of Drama
Fan Your Imagination
Treat Yourself to a Reel Boost
Give a Hand with Puppets
Clown Around for Connection
Ignite Your Creativity
CHAPTER NINE: Invite Creativity with Writing, Storytelling, and Poetry
Discover Your Own Personalized Poetic License
Prompt Imagination
Create Stories Together
Sneak Past the Facts and Connect through Poetry
Turn Ordinary Life into Extraordinary Poems
Honor Personal History
Celebrate Heroes through Storytelling and Scrapbooking
CHAPTER TEN: Express Yourself through the Arts
It’s Almost like Being in Love
Open Your Imagination by Looking at Art
Visit a Gallery and Draw on Memory
Brush Away Apathy through Painting
Draw One Line, Then Another
Bring Imagination into the Picture
Open Studios Invite Artistic Exploration
Illustrate Your Life
Weave In Fabric
Connect through Collage
Cut, Paste, and Converse
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Dive into Playfulness, Games, Fiddling, and Technology
Play On
Invite Playfulness
Dig into Delightfully Destructive Dominoes
Keep a Pocket Full of Memories
Forage in a Fiddle Box
Plug into Technology to Connect
About Deborah
Acknowledgments
About the Contributors
Resources
Bibliography
How My Desire for Connection Guided Me through the Land of Dementia
For several years, I’d wanted to write about the creative possibilities inherent in being a care partner for someone living with dementia. But I didn’t know how to start. The documentary film Alive Inside pointed the way. When I watched this powerful movie about music transforming the lives of those living with dementia, I knew I wanted to write about this subject.
I contacted a national magazine and suggested an article. The editor asked, “How else are people communicating with those living with memory loss?” As I researched the question, I discovered a whole new world: Across the globe, writers, painters, musicians, gardeners, dancers, expressive therapists, and other innovators were using the arts, creativity, and imagination as connecting points, tapping into the spirit that thrives in those living with dementia. I was intrigued, and I knew family and professional care partners would also be intrigued and benefit from their ideas.
As my partner Ron and I traveled the world, orchestrating workshops and performing dramatized stories from my book, Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey, we were inspired by the hundreds of family and professional care partners we met. From Ireland to New Zealand, from Canada to Chile, we all burned with a common passion: to stay deeply connected with those who were living with dementia. And we were not alone. According to the World Alzheimer’s Report, by the year 2030, 74.7 million people worldwide will be living with dementia. At this writing, there is no cure. But that doesn’t mean there’s no hope. The experts I interviewed offer many ways for care partners to stay connected and creative.
This book presents imaginative activities that help you stay linked throughout the dementia journey. These ideas honor the creative spirit, reminding us we can all make a difference, one painting, one song, one smile, one shared experience at a time.
Creativity and Imagination Matter
Discover the Wonders in the Dementia Jungle
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” —Deepak Chopra
“Excuse me Deborah, but you may not want to touch these trees,” Pablo, our guide, gently suggested.
We were slogging down a narrow, muddy, jungle path in the Ecuadorian rainforest, and I had grabbed onto a branch to steady myself. I glanced at the branch; my hand was surrounded by serious-looking black thorns. I wobbled as I plunged my hand into my pocket.
“Those thorns are poisonous,” Pablo said. “They can temporarily paralyze you. But you recover.”
I tucked my hand into my shirtsleeve so I wouldn’t be tempted to latch onto another tree. I wondered what I was doing, trekking around in such a chaotic and unknown environment, among paralyzing thorns, biting ants, and venomous snakes. Then I looked up at the towering canopy of lush leaves. I noticed a wild orchid shyly clinging to the thorn tree. Pablo pointed to the hollow in a nearby tree trunk, and I saw a baby night monkey peeking out, its large brown eyes inquisitive as a child’s. A scarlet macaw squawked by and a line of leaf cutter ants marched past my hiking boots, each boldly toting greenery twice its size. The poison thorns seemed a small price to pay for such an extraordinarily rich and vibrant experience.
The journey through dementia can be similar. My partner, Ron, and I trekked through the dementia jungle with three of our four parents. We tried hard