Anne Basting investigates the narrative construction in three autobiographies written by individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Two of the narratives follow a linear structure, which has one “self” as the narrative. The third narrative is structured liked a journal. Basting is interested in particular looking at one’s self through the written narrative.
The first narrative, Living in the Labryinth, follows Diana McGowin in her life before and after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her narrative begins describing her “normal” life as a mother, wife, and manager of a law firm. However, her normal life has growing tales of confusion. After several family members express concern, Diana goes to the doctor. There she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Diana is in guilty and does not want to tell her husband and children, as she is afraid they will abandon her. She chooses to write as an outlet that does not judge and to help others who are going through this disease. The autobiography ends with Diana redefining herself and her family supporting her through her journey with Alzheimer’s disease. The second autobiography follows pastor Robert’s Davis journey into Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose behind Davis’s autobiography is to “give some insights into the confused, fearful mind of the Christian with Alzheimer’s”. Davis’s biography also includes inserts from his wife, Betty. Davis writes a lot about his “post self” and “now moments”. He often states that he is still himself regardless if he is bedridden and drooling. His autobiography states a lot about his religious beliefs. For example, he states that God doesn’t always heal the physical body, but heals the spirit of those who surrender to his will. The autobiography ends from Betty perspective of the journey and wanting to give Robert a voice. The third autobiography is the journal, Partial View: An Alzheimer’s Journal by Cary Smith Henderson. This journal format differs from the other two with a more free form style with no expectation of cohesiveness. His narrative voice often reflects on living in the present moment. His journal entries vary from him longing his former life, dreading the stairs, passion for music and history, love for his dog, hunger for knowledge, bouts of loneliness and confusion, and empathy for caregivers. Henderson writes so he can help other people with the disease make some “sense of it”. Henderson also writes about his experience with time. He states how he has no sense of time and often feels in a time warp. His autobiography ends with Henderson defining himself as being more than …show more content…
This is important since most individuals identities change as a result of being diagnosed with the disease. This article is important to my research since it shows that writing can be an outlet for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. However, this article is qualitative, exploratory, and retrospective. Meaning that there is no quantitative data and the author is analyzing autobiographies for themes. I believe this research is necessary since most research in this area tends to focus on the behavioral component of the disease (i.e., memory training) rather than the affective component. I agree with what Basting’s conclusion in this article. In particular, I enjoyed how she defined identities into multiple components. This will make my data richer and more authentic by being able to dissect things my client says into the social and personal components of
The first narrative, Living in the Labryinth, follows Diana McGowin in her life before and after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her narrative begins describing her “normal” life as a mother, wife, and manager of a law firm. However, her normal life has growing tales of confusion. After several family members express concern, Diana goes to the doctor. There she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Diana is in guilty and does not want to tell her husband and children, as she is afraid they will abandon her. She chooses to write as an outlet that does not judge and to help others who are going through this disease. The autobiography ends with Diana redefining herself and her family supporting her through her journey with Alzheimer’s disease. The second autobiography follows pastor Robert’s Davis journey into Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose behind Davis’s autobiography is to “give some insights into the confused, fearful mind of the Christian with Alzheimer’s”. Davis’s biography also includes inserts from his wife, Betty. Davis writes a lot about his “post self” and “now moments”. He often states that he is still himself regardless if he is bedridden and drooling. His autobiography states a lot about his religious beliefs. For example, he states that God doesn’t always heal the physical body, but heals the spirit of those who surrender to his will. The autobiography ends from Betty perspective of the journey and wanting to give Robert a voice. The third autobiography is the journal, Partial View: An Alzheimer’s Journal by Cary Smith Henderson. This journal format differs from the other two with a more free form style with no expectation of cohesiveness. His narrative voice often reflects on living in the present moment. His journal entries vary from him longing his former life, dreading the stairs, passion for music and history, love for his dog, hunger for knowledge, bouts of loneliness and confusion, and empathy for caregivers. Henderson writes so he can help other people with the disease make some “sense of it”. Henderson also writes about his experience with time. He states how he has no sense of time and often feels in a time warp. His autobiography ends with Henderson defining himself as being more than …show more content…
This is important since most individuals identities change as a result of being diagnosed with the disease. This article is important to my research since it shows that writing can be an outlet for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. However, this article is qualitative, exploratory, and retrospective. Meaning that there is no quantitative data and the author is analyzing autobiographies for themes. I believe this research is necessary since most research in this area tends to focus on the behavioral component of the disease (i.e., memory training) rather than the affective component. I agree with what Basting’s conclusion in this article. In particular, I enjoyed how she defined identities into multiple components. This will make my data richer and more authentic by being able to dissect things my client says into the social and personal components of