1st Edition

Twenty-Five Years of the Life Review Theoretical and Practical Considerations

By Robert Disch Copyright 1989

    In this thought-provoking book, professionals in the field of aging examine the history and concept of the life review. The life review--a theory about the nature of the life cycle first presented in 1962--has become a foundation for program development with the elderly. This unique analysis of the life review goes beyond the early formulation both in theory and practice. Critics of the life review suggest ways in which the theory can be modified and expanded and offer several unique methods of creatively adapting these criticisms and changes to practical purposes. Proponents of the life review--while emphasizing that reminiscence is not a panacea--proclaim its historical, educational, and therapeutic value.

    Contents Preface: “Whom the Gods Would Destroy They First Make Popular”
    • I. Introduction
    • Twenty-Five Years of the Life Review: Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going?
    • II. Theory and Interpretation
    • Reminiscence, Identity, Sentimentality: Simone de Beauvoir and the Life Review
    • Rediscovered Lives: Work With Older People in the Search for Time Past
    • Grandparenthood, Life Review, and Psychosocial Development
    • Late Life Divorce and the Life Review
    • III. Adaptations and Applications
    • All That Our Eyes Have Witnessed: Memories of a Living History Workshop in the South Bronx
    • Images From the Occupational Years: The Reminiscences of Retirees and Their Implications for Social Work Practice
    • The Young, the Old, and the Life Review: Report on a Brookdale Project
    • Transformation: Life Review and Communal Theater

    Biography

    Robert Disch