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- Crossing the River Lethe
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- Laura Jackson
Recent studies indicate that there are more than 4.5 million Americans who suffer with Alzheimers. And like many my age, I have become responsible for one of them. My mother has Alzheimer's and almost two years ago I moved into her home to care for her as long as was possible - before making the inevitable move to a nursing home community. This is taken from the opening section of my book in progress, Crossing the River Lethe.
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Piece Description
Recent studies indicate that there are more than 4.5 million Americans who suffer with Alzheimers. And like many my age, I have become responsible for one of them. My mother has Alzheimer's and almost two years ago I moved into her home to care for her as long as was possible - before making the inevitable move to a nursing home community. This is taken from the opening section of my book in progress, Crossing the River Lethe.
2 Comments
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Review of Crossing the River LetheA moving personal communication from a daughter who through vivid snapshot images manages to bring us close to her current experience as her mother's caretaker. The producer's slow pacing, combined with the use of water sounds and an old recording to bracket the past and present, give us the time and ambience-support to feel, however briefly, what it is like to be in her shoes. Perfect for Mother's Day. |
Broadcast History
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Transcript
In Greek Mythology one of the five rivers of death was the river Lethe also known as the river of forgetting. Souls choosing the Lethe as their route to the afterlife, arrived on the further shore washed clean of all memory . By some accounts, this put them on "the fast track for reincarnation." Nowdays, we call this dying by forgetting, Alzheimers. And, several years ago, quiely, without telling anyone else, my mother stepped into this rive and began the terrible crossing.
According to Greek myth, a travelor could change her mind, turn around and regain her memory. An exact formula existed for this: one year of memory for every mile forged back upstream. But modern medicine seems to have lost the trick to this - this changing one's mind mid-stream. And for my mother, Dorothy, no matter how difficult she finds the journey - hers is a one way ticket. None of us, no matter how co...
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Timing and Cues
IN: music 10 seconds
body of piece
OUT: 5 seconds of evening "peepers"
Musical Works
If I Had My Way. The Best of the Mills Brothers . Decca Records 1952
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Mother's Day Diary (02:49)
Eric Nuzum
Posted on May 14, 2004 at 06:40 AM | Permalink
Review of Crossing the River Lethe
Some of the sound effects and music are especially effective, but a few could be cut down and/or eliminated all together (the counting dance steps audio could be kept at bed level, brought up for just a second or two, then brought back down--without diminishing the piece).
Our station used this piece on Mother's Day, but it would be appropriate for just about any time. This is an example of what sets public radio commentary apart: smart writing, effective delivery, and a catalyst for lingering thoughts and emotions.