Books reviewed by James Woodward

Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today

Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today by Pam Schweitzer and Errollyn BrucePam Schweitzer and Errollyn Bruce
Jessica Kingsley publications, 2008, £19.99, ISBN 9781843106494

People who live with dementia inhabit a strange world between remembering and forgetting. The onset of dementia can be an enormous challenge to a person’s sense of value and integrity. Schweitzer and Bruce have produced a guide to good practice in reminiscence. The book establishes why reminiscence is a key element in supporting whole-person care. The book offers a theoretical and practical framework to enable the reader to use a range of activities with those living with dementia. These activities have been developed and tested over a period of ten years and the book harvests this experience creatively for those who need help to develop reminiscence therapy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I believe it to be one of the best books in the area of reminiscence therapy that I have read for some time. Again, this is a book to be used rather than simply read and reviewed.

James Woodward