World Book Day 2020
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Zibiah Loakthar our Cuimhne Coordinator writes:
If you have been out and about this morning and spotted Little Red Riding Hoods and dragons and Queens of Hearts and wizards scurrying along the road towards school playgrounds you may have been reminded that today is World Book Day!
child in costume
This week I have loved rereading Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pearce with one of our children. The story about a boy who finds himself travelling back through time and his relationships with older people stirs up many questions about the curious working of our memories.
I have especially loved being catapulted back into my own childhood through a book that I remember enjoying reading when I was young but had forgotten all about.
I have to confess only remembering the story as I reread it and secretly racing ahead to the end after the children’s bed–time as I couldn’t way to rediscover the ending!
Are there books that you have loved reading when you were an adult that you would love to read or hear again? We all have very individual tastes in books. Our Cuimhne team is collecting suggestions of favourite stories and books people recall for the online resource we are building up with Pearl Support Network to help support family members caring for people living with dementia. Please contact us champions@irishinbritain.org
Reading is a cognitive activity stimulating our brains. There have been various studies into whether lifelong reading may help protect against dementia. All studies have their limitations. Whilst it is difficult to conclusively prove that greater cognitive activity directly prevents development of mild cognitive impairment or diagnoses of dementia, there is consensus amongst many researchers that frequent cognitive activity may help slow the rate of cognitive decline. (Read here)
Activities such as reading, writing and visiting the library may help keep us active. Reading is an inexpensive hobby and can bring people a lot of enjoyment, especially at times in our life where we might find it more difficult to get out and about. And where it may be difficult for us to read, for instance because of visual impairment, we can access stories in other ways, for example through talking books. The RNIB has a great free Talking Books library for people with visual impairment.
Reading Well Books on Prescription for dementia recommends books people might find helpful to find out more about the condition. These books provide information and reassuring advice, support for living well, advice for relatives and carers, and personal stories. Books are chosen by health experts and people living with the conditions covered. People can be recommended a title by a health professional, or find books in local libraries.
For this World Book Day 2020 Admiral Nurses from Dementia UK have also recommended some great books for our wider community to read to help break down the stigma of dementia.
These include Martin Slevin’s “The Little Girl in the Radiator”, a book that our Cuimhne team at Irish in Britain has often introduced to community groups joining our training and memory loss workshops. Martin writes sensitively about caring for his Irish mum and the book is both poignant and humorous. It is full of insight about what it can sometimes be like to care for a relative with Alzheimer’s and a recommended read by many of our Cuimhne volunteers.
Helpline Admiral Nurse, Vicky Wheeler, has recommended, “And Still the Music Plays” by Graham Stokes. Each chapter tells a true real life story of a person’s experiences of living with dementia in an empathetic way.
Vicky observes,
“Occasionally, by reading about other people’s experiences, we can hold a mirror to our own and questions why we; or our loved ones, are reacting in a way that challenges us.”
Helpline Admiral Nurse, Pat Brown has recommended a book sharing stories of t30 family carers, each with very different lived experiences caring for a person living with dementia: “Telling tales about Dementia– Experiences of caring” (Edited by Lucy Whitman).
Pat comments that this book “describes each carer’s honest, engaging and insightful account of their experiences and their personal journeys, which are peppered with a host of emotions ranging from anger to humour. Other family carers and professionals will find it hard to put the book down – an inspiring and touching read.”