Читать книгу Start & Run a Personal History Business - Jennifer Campbell - Страница 13

Many older people don’t have a family member asking them to do their personal histories; they take the initiative themselves. They hire personal historians because they are motivated to tell their stories, put things in perspective, and leave something tangible and permanent that will be around long after they’re gone.

Probably very few are aware that studies and surveys are proving that life review and reminiscence is great for health and well-being. Telling your life story, found the late Robert Butler, a Pulitzer-prize winning author renowned for his studies of healthy aging, has definite benefits, such as these stated in Transformational Reminiscence: Life Story Work by John Kunz and Florence Gray Soltys (Springer Publishing, 2007): “ … finding meaning in life, improving problem-solving skills, assisting with the grief process, increasing emotional support, strengthening self-esteem, decreasing depression and anxiety … ” Personal historians witness these changes firsthand as clients report a sense of completion and newfound peace and contentment. The process of telling your life story is usually extremely satisfying for the narrator.