Music and Memory – Alive Inside

Music has been a part of my life since early childhood, like many of us. I remember when my dad used to bring me home 45s of The Beatles, and I was ecstatic. The next stage in my musical connection developed in adolescence through my teen years. Like many teenagers, music was the heart and soul of my life and one of the few places I felt safe and understood. In my late teens, I became a disc jockey, and I have done so at various times throughout my adulthood. When the mess that was my teens and 20s began to shift, music again was at the core of my development and a safe place for me to go when I felt overwhelmed or fearful. Today, I cannot imagine life without music! My relationship with music typically mirrors my relationship with myself. When I first stumbled upon the website of Music and Memory, I was thrilled and almost began to cry watching the video of The Story of Henry. The Music and Memory iPod Project is amazing! I invite you to read some of the content below from their website and view a few of their videos, including the trailer to Alive Inside The Music and Memory Story.

Beyond wanting to support The Music and Memory iPod Project because they’re doing great work, it is also personal to me. The last few months before my mother passed on in 2002, she was experiencing dementia and often did not know where she was or who I was. I remember one night I was sitting next to her in the hospital holding her hand and talking with her. In the middle of our conversation, her face became tight, and she started yelling at me, stating, “Stop talking to me, whoever you are! I’m on the phone with my son Michael. Go away and stop bothering me so I can talk to my son Michael!” I reminded her that I was her son Michael, and she was not on the phone with me but sitting right next to her, holding her hand. She looked startled and confused, I was hurt and desperately wanting to remove my mother of her struggles. I wonder if I was aware of the connection between music and restored memory demonstrated through The Music and Memory iPod Project, and if it would’ve helped her come back to life. More than anything, what I remember from that period of her life was missing my mother, as I had known her for the previous 40+ years.

The Music and Memory iPod Project – Alive Inside

“No one wants to end up alone and isolated in a nursing home. It’s hard enough to lose someone you love to Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. It’s terrifying to think you could end up there yourself someday.

But there’s reason to hope for a better life as we age. At MUSIC & MEMORY℠, we help elders in care facilities suffering from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges find renewed meaning and connection in their lives through the gift of personalized music.

Beloved Music Can Renew Lives Lost to Dementia

Our approach is simple, elegant and effective: We train elder care professionals how to set up personalized music playlists, delivered on iPods and other digital devices, for those in their care. These musical favorites tap deep memories not lost to dementia and can bring residents and clients back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize and stay present.

Music & Memory’s work is rooted in extensive neuroscience research. The results can be nothing short of miraculous.”

Music and Memory – The Story of Henry