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Anne Davis Basting
$45.00 hardcover $19.95 paperback |
Visit Johns Hopkins University Press to order!
Description
Memory loss can be one of the most terrifying aspects of a diagnosis of dementia. Yet the fear and dread of losing our memory make the experience of the disease worse than it needs to be, according to cultural critic and playwright Anne Davis Basting. She says, Forget memory. Basting emphasizes the importance of activities that focus on the present to improve the lives of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Based on ten years of practice and research in the field, Basting’s study includes specific examples of innovative programs that stimulate growth, humor, and emotional connection; translates into accessible language a wide range of provocative academic works on memory; and addresses how advances in medical research and clinical practice are already pushing radical changes in care for persons with dementia. Bold, optimistic, and innovative, Basting’s cultural critique of dementia care offers a vision for how we can change the way we think about and care for people with memory loss.
Reviews
“A unique work. This wide-ranging critique of the current approach to the care of persons with dementia and memory impairment provides a much-needed prescription for change.”
—Peter V. Rabins, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, coauthor of The 36-Hour Day
“One of the most creative scholars in the area of dementia practice reminds in an unforgettable way that memory is more than we think and also less.”
—Peter J. Whitehouse, Case Western Reserve University, coauthor of The Myth of Alzheimer’s
“With her big ideas and sharp criticism, Anne Basting is a vital part of the Alzheimer’s community. I don’t always agree with her, but I’m sure glad she’s a part of this important conversation.”
—David Shenk, author of The Forgetting
“Forget Memory is truly a memorable book. From its readings of films like Away from Her and Finding Nemo to its moving accounts of art, music, and dance programs for people with dementia, Forget Memory offers us a vision of a more humane world—and a better future for aging people of all ages.”
—Michael Bérubé, The Pennsylvania State University
“Anne Basting’s Forget Memory brings a lighthearted spirit of hope, love, creativity, and even fun to the culture of fear surrounding memory loss. It should be an essential guide to all families, caregivers, and patients seeking a humane response to the diagnosis of dementia.”
—Elinor Fuchs, author of Making an Exit: A Mother-Daughter Drama with Alzheimer’s, Machine Tools, and Laughter
ABOUT ME:
ANNE BASTING (Ph.D.) is the Director of the Center on Age & Community and an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at the Peck School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she teaches storytelling and playwriting. Basting has written extensively on issues of aging and representation, including her book The Stages of Age: Performing Age in Contemporary American Culture. Her numerous articles and essays have been published across multiple disciplines including journals such as The Drama Review, American Theatre, and Journal of Aging Studies, and anthologies Figuring Age, Mental Wellness in Aging, the Handbook for the Humanities and Aging, and Aging and the Meaning of Time. Basting is the recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship, a Brookdale National Fellowship, and numerous major grants for her scholarly and creative endeavors. Her creative work includes nearly a dozen plays and public performances, including The Frida Kahlo Retrospective, All the Live Long Day, Persuasion (co-written with Ping Chong), the Last Dinosaur, and Time Slips. Basting received her Ph.D. in Theatre Arts and Dance from the University of Minnesota. Basting continues to direct the TimeSlips Creative Storytelling Project, which she founded in 1998. She makes numerous presentations creativity and aging across the United States.
FROM ME:
I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with hubby and documentary filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein, our two boys Ben and Will, and dog Phoebe. I am in the minivan, soccer, baseball, and falling asleep at 10 phase of my life. A friend keeps asking me what I want to do when I grow up, and I truly don’t know. For now, I say I’m an applied artist/writer/teacher and public scholar. I’m on the board of our local Alzheimer’s Association chapter. I adore mountains and the view of Lake Michigan from Atwater Park in Milwaukee. Somehow, that view makes everything okay. I have a sister who lives in Milwaukee, and a brother in Minneapolis. Both are lawyers. My dad is a lawyer too. I don’t know why I’m not a lawyer… My mom is a former teacher with a manic love of learning…maybe that’s why.
This page has the following sub pages.
Hi Anne,
I was thinking about you today – wondering how you are doing, so I went to the the Timeslips site and then found myself here. It sounds as if you and Brad are having a wonderful life in Milwaukee. I’m enjoying every moment of Vermont – the leaves are doing their thing at the moment. I’m still teaching yoga, working at Landmark, teaching online, designing web sites and publishing books (3rd editions of my current ones). Also, I am really into gardening now and community theater. Still unmarried and in no rush to do so…but have a boyfriend of over a year now – Dave – a 6’4″ cutie with a beard and long hair :0.
Miss you! With love, Annesa
Anne,enjoyed our brief conversation last week and so glad to read that you enjoyed the reunion.
I have enjoyed looking through your blog.
Babs
I’d be interested in talking to you about the “nutshell” of your book. My husband has memory loss. Will you contact me? Please and thank you.
FYI: Time.com article–
Memory: Forgetting Is the New Normal
Thursday, May. 08, 2008 By SUE HALPERN
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1738621,00.html
Hi Anne…………..thought you might be interested in this.
I just published a post to join the Dementia Webring so you can share similar interests and concerns with others! A ring will help more visitors find you quickly and easily by using the RingSurf Viewer which lets you navigate easily between sites in your ring
There is also a link on the top left of my blog if you decide to join or browse at a later date.
David
http://knittingdoc.wordpress.com
Hi Anne,
I thought you might be interested in Samantha Harvey’s new novel about Alzheimer’s, The Wilderness. More info here: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385527637. I’d be happy to send you a copy if interested.
Best,
Jillian
Congrats on the appearance of both hard and paperback. I am sure this book will help many address their aging associated cognitive challenges with creativity and hope. Say hi to the family. Warm best, Peter
Dear Professor Basting,
I thought you might be interested in a conference being planned in Milwaukee for next March, called Nurturing Resilience: The Power of Storytelling to Build Healthy Bodies and Communities. It’s intended for parents and teachers, healing arts professionals and anyone interested in storytelling as a healing art. For more information see: http://www.waldorftraining.com/marchconf082109.htm (or contact me). Thank you!
Today I reread our entire manuscript, seeking inspiration for where we want/need to go in the conclusion. I had a sudden inspiration – could we just steal your conclusion? Would Johns Hopkins notice? Would you mind? We would buy dinner…
I would love to read more
Hello
I am part of the Conscious Aging Network of New Mexico. We are looking at the performing arts as a part of our work this year. Are you still involved with TimeSlips?
also, I am trying to locate Maureeen Matthews work and the website is no longer up. Any other way to be in touch with her about the play? and possible production?
I am a long term friend/colleague of Susan Mcfadden.
Phoebe Girard
Foremost, let me praise your lucidity on this topic. a lot on , but after registering your post, my understanding has developed better. Grant me to make hold of your rss feed to stay in reach with whatever potential updates Sincere work and will pass it on to supporters and my on-line readers.
Keep posting goodposts.
I also love comics, for me the best rest is to read the comics.
good morning, excellant article.
I love this book, your philosophy and your kindness. My mom has alzheimer’s and this book was on the library table, just waiting for me….
I lived in Milwaukee for a long time and an now in LA. I brought my Mom out here last year, because I knew I needed to be with her in these final stages.
I have a blog about our experiences you might like to read.
More later…I just wanted to thank you for this “statistic free” book and want to help share it with more people. Alzheimer’s aside, it’s also a wonderful way to look at life.
Lois –
thanks for all your kind words! I’m always so happy to hear when people connect with the work. FYI, we’re starting a summer institute next summer – with a focus on person-centered care, environment, and creativity! look for news on it soon…
best,
Anne
I attended your intensive at the Pioneer Network last week and I have to say that you opened my eyes to so many possibilities for serving seniors and those with dementia. Having worked in the aging services field for almost 20 years, I knew I was interesed in the arts for myself and serving elders, but didn’t realize that I could bring the two together. Thank you for the work that you do and for the inspiration of thinking outside the box to a world of possibilities!
I was so happy with how that workshop day went…I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive feedback as well. As you try some new approaches through the arts, don’t hesitate to stay in touch/ask questions/share stories!
best,
Anne
Dear Anne,
Just a note to say thank you so much for writing your excellent book! It has changed my view on working with people who suffer with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and with their families. You have given me wonderful tools to truly help people with dementia, and their families, to experience the fullest amount of life possible in their brief remaining years. I am grateful. Comment on Amazon: “Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People with Dementia” by Anne Davis Basting. This book provides excellent information on wonderful programs that are being used successfully in creating better lives for people with Alheimer’s and other forms of dementia. As this book documents, these programs produce positive results in the lives of the person with dementia, and the family. These programs give families a deeper level of appreciation and understanding of the person with dementia, and provide families with tools that enhance the life of the person with dementia so that the remaining years may be as meaningful and full of life as possible. It is well written and well documented. I was introduced to this book by a teacher who required it for our text in my college Gerontology class on Alzheimer’s and Other Forms of Dementia. I plan to use these various programs when I have an opportunity to do so in working with those suffering with dementia. I highly recommend this small, easy to read book for those who are truly looking to understand people with dementia, how to reach them, and how to help families and caregivers successfully interact with people with dementia. The wonderful programs discussed in this book, Naomi Feil’s Validation Therapy, the Green House Model, and the Eden Alternative Model, all offer positive, productive tools that may be implemented to create better lives for people with dementia and their families.]
Dear Anne Basting,
I found my way to your book through a NCCA webinar with you a few years ago, and have re and re-read it this year, inspired by your work and that of all those committed to culture change around people with cognitive impairment. I am 26 days away from graduating with an MSW and interested to explore any opportunity to connect with the culture change movement. Several posts back, you mention a summer institute for 2011. Is that happening? Any info? Any leads or suggestions of people here in Los Angeles to contact around this work?
Thanks for the gift of your book and your incisive and innovative work. I hope we will cross paths in the future.
Best to you,
Sarah Jacobus
MSW candidate 2011, University of Southern California
[...] Davis Basting. Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People With Dementia. As Basting writes: “Wrestling with the meaning and role of memory in our lives can help us to [...]
excellent approach! Thanks for bveing on public radio this morning.
i am an ot working in israel with many different patients suffering from
all sorts of dementia. i use in my work many models of approach with
the people. i found the snozlen now as one of the successful modelities for the last stages of the illness. your work sounds wonderful. how can i purchase or receive a copy of your book?