- Playing
- After the Forgetting
- From
- Erica Heilman
This is a story about a Vermont family's experience living with an elderly member's progressive dementia. It is told in a series of interview segments and dinner conversations among the story's three characters, Gregory Sharrow, his husband Bob Hooker, and Greg's mother Marjorie. The story explores the relationship with a son and son-in-law whose names Marjorie can't remember. It addresses the question, what happens to love when there is no more memory? There is no narration in the story. Brooklyn musician Karinne Keithley created music for the story. For more about Karinne Keithley, go to: http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/ Thanks to Rob Rosenthal for his mentorship during the production of this piece.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
This is a story about a Vermont family's experience living with an elderly member's progressive dementia. It is told in a series of interview segments and dinner conversations among the story's three characters, Gregory Sharrow, his husband Bob Hooker, and Greg's mother Marjorie. The story explores the relationship with a son and son-in-law whose names Marjorie can't remember. It addresses the question, what happens to love when there is no more memory? There is no narration in the story. Brooklyn musician Karinne Keithley created music for the story. For more about Karinne Keithley, go to: http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/ Thanks to Rob Rosenthal for his mentorship during the production of this piece.
7 Comments
|
DementiaNice piece Erica! I now have some personal experience with Alzheimer's. I have responsibility for my Aunt since my mother's death. |
|
|
Review of Without Memory: Living with DementiaYour program struck just the right note -- candid, gentle, tender without being cloying. It made me stop and think about the essence of relationships, what it means when the "currency of the relationship is love." I was touched that Marjorie seems to be refining her zest for life and extending that gift to these "two men" she enjoys, even as she loses her specific memories of them as her son and son-in-law. Greg, Bob and Marjorie are fortunate in having love as their bedrock.. Thank you for allowing us to share in this glimpse of the opportunities available to us at moments of life such as these. |
Timing and Cues
Please include credit:
This piece was produced by Erica Heilman for Vermont Folklife Center Media. Music produced by Karinne Keithley.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stardust | Hoagy Carmichael | 00:05 | |||
| Oh Sister | Bob Dylan | 00:05 | |||
| September Song | Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson | 00:10 |
Related Website
Tom Stanton
Posted on February 14, 2010 at 09:10 AM | Permalink
When the speech goes away
Your program was very inspirational and made me think of my own mom, who at 88, has dementia. But unlike Marjorie, my mom, Sydney, has lost much capacity for speech due to the small strokes she's had. I realize how important speech is to the "new" relationship between Marjorie and her son. My sisters and I can still say "I love you" and mom says it back, we still hug and smile at each other - and sort of dance to the 40s music she loves. But when you subtract the ability to communicate the challenges to relate to each other are daunting.