Stories, Narratives, Podcasting and...The Nature of Truth

I thought I would take a moment to describe the podcasts I'm working on for the site Help With My Parents. The idea first came to us after listening to the compelling stories on public radio--whether on This American Life or Story Corps. This is, yet again, about the narrative--one that we miss if we don't listen carefully--the narrative of the caregiver.

Before beginning the project I got the chance to meet briefly with Amanda Barusch, a professor I know from the University of Utah's College of Social Work. Amanda said she thought there would be much we could learn from recording and listening to the stories of those who have cared--or who are currently caring for--and older adult.

I think Amanda won't mind my quoting her here as she speaks about the value of stories:

Stories are essential to our personal and collective development, so narrative is a vital component of any enterprise that seeks to understand what it means to be human. In narrative methods science and the humanities merge, generating insights and revealing meanings that are intensely personal, broadly relevant, and inevitably fluid. This, I think, is the nature of truth.

Isn't that beautiful and amazing?

As Amanda talked about what to ask a caregiver, she suggested one question that resonated with me: What would you have done differently? This is the one question I felt was so important to ask so that a caregiver can become our teacher. I consider the stories sacred because they include the intimate and sometimes very gritty realities of what it means to provide care to someone whose capacities are diminishing.

And, interestingly enough, the answer to this question is often a surprise for me.

I hope you can check back in order to listen to these podcasts as they become available. If you are reading this post and think you might want to add to our nascent library of stories, please contact me directly as I am interested in hearing from you.