Are you an older adult? Are you concerned about maintaining good brain health? Do you have a deep and abiding regard for the role of chocolate in your life? If your answer is yes to these questions, I have some good news for you!Dr. Gene Cohen, ground breaking author of The Creative Age wrote, “writing an autobiography for older adults is like chocolate for the brain”.

If you are reading this article you are probably in the position of benefitting from writing a life review or helping a love one write one. And the news about chocolate is an extra bonus. Studies have found that reminiscing lowers depression, alleviates physical symptoms and stimulates the hippocampus where memories are stored in the brain. It has also been found to touch many other dimensions of wellness including physical, emotion, social, spiritual and intellectual.

Telling life stories is essential as we get older as this is when we begin to look within for a clearer sense of meaning in our lives. When I retired several years ago, I had no idea of where my life was heading. When I began writing about some important events in my life, I got a better sense of who I had been and the lessons I had learned.

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist Way writes, “I write to tell myself the truth.” Telling or writing stories gave me the opportunity to see my experiences from a deep place that had stored them for so long. Acknowledging my stories helped me realize my strengths and skill and feel more confident in exploring the future.In my book,  Keep Your Fork-Dessert Is On The Way; Savoring the Second Half of Life, I reference the value of life stories in several different chapters. Fascination with the power of life stories began when I was directing a volunteer program for an adult day center. Volunteers came to help the elders record their stories. I asked one gentleman if he wanted to tell of some of his life experiences so that the volunteer could record them for him and his family. He said his life hadn’t been very interesting. In talking with him further, he said that in World War II he had parachuted out of a fighter plane over Belgium and spent several weeks finding his way back to his group.

After relating that story to the volunteer he said that after 60 years of keeping that story inside of him, now he was finally free. Maya Angelou felt that there is no greater sorrow than being an untold story within you. At that same time a women told me that she didn’t have anything to tell about that time as she had only raised 3 foster children and held down a job in a department store. This made me very sad as I realized that so many people die with their story still inside them. They don’t realize the heroic role the have played in so many lives. We recorded her story as well.

Mark Twain wrote, “There never was an uninteresting life. Such a thing is utterly impossible. Inside even the dullest exterior there is a comedy, a drama and a tragedy.” Whether you write your own stories or stories of someone else you will be recording precious memories that will not only help your brain but also may inspire you to go out to get some really good chocolate.

Barb Warner, MEd
Author and Speaker
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