href="#ulink_66c859ae-9ac2-561d-bb9f-1748b8df6a5b">Discover the Creativity at the End of the Rainbow
CHAPTER FOUR: Tune In with Music and Memory
Fly to the Moon with Music Therapy
Embrace the Duet of Music and the Brain
Come Alive with Personal Playlists
Sing Along and Find Your Voice
Weave In Rhythm
Unearth Life’s Lyrics
Encore
CHAPTER FIVE: Add Imagination to Movement
Explore Creative Movement and Exercise
Ah-Ha-Ha with Laughter
Brighten the Brain with Movement Therapy
Work Wonders with Workouts
Partner Dancing for a Purpose
CHAPTER SIX: Cook Up Memorable Moments
Create Meaningful Moments through Food
Feed Friendships by Cooking
Build Brain Power with Culinary Creativity
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
