Dementia diary: a personal and professional journal

Area of Science:

• Social Work Practice
• Gerontology
• Family Caregiving Studies

Background:

• Traditional social work writing often lacks the depth of lived experience.
• Memoir offers a unique perspective, bridging the gap between professional distance and personal reality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the final year of an elderly woman's life through a daughter-in-law's memoir.
• To illustrate the day-to-day realities of progressive memory loss and caregiving challenges.
• To advocate for the use of narrative in social work education to enhance practitioner understanding.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative, narrative approach using memoir as the primary method.
• First-person account of caregiving experiences.
• Observation and reflection on the progression of memory loss.

Main Results:

• Detailed chronicle of the daily experiences of an aging individual with memory loss.
• Insight into the emotional and practical challenges faced by family caregivers.
• Demonstration of how personal experience can inform professional practice.

Conclusions:

• Memoir writing provides invaluable insights into the lived experiences of individuals and families facing significant life events.
• Social work can benefit from integrating personal narratives to foster empathy, understanding, and wisdom among practitioners.
• This approach can enrich social work's capacity to address complex human experiences with greater depth and sensitivity.