Reminiscing of Memories
Seasons of Life is a wonderful journey through your memories that others can relates to. What was the inspiration for the original and fascinating idea at the center of the collection of poetry?
I worked in a Nursing Home Activity Department. One of my group activities was writing poetry. The residents enjoyed a variety of poems being read to them. My long-term goal was to find poems that would encourage reminiscing of memories, events and experiences to promote conversations among the residents for an enjoyable shared group activity. Unable to find the kind of poems I wanted, I decided to write my own starting in 2006, a few hours every week. These were ideas of poems my residents could relate to. I continued to utilize poems from various resources mixed in with some of mine. The residents gave me positive comments with my poems.
When I retired in 2017 started to write five to six days a week for six hours every day. I wrote the book to be used with healthcare facilities in a group/one-to-one/independent activity for the Activity/Recreational Departments and with home care family/professional caregivers, the poems to act as a “bridge” for the reminiscing of past memories.
I love the idea behind this collection of poetry, the bridging of memories to help people remember and connect to the people around them. What is your favorite memory that you wrote about?
My favorite memory is from my poem titled “Paper Dolls”.
I loved all my paper dolls and have wonderful memories playing with them.
This seems like a very personal account of memories for you. How hard was it to put these memories out in the world for people to read?
It was a natural process. I always enjoyed writing and I’m grateful I had some time to start writing in 2006. When I retired in 2017 I was ecstatic because I could write five to six days a week for six hours every day.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your poems?
I hope the one thing readers take away from my poems is a universal feeling of enjoyment.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
Topics of fun, love, happiness, kindness, and enjoyment are described in these poems. Using the poems in a group/one-to-one/independent activity in health care facilities by the Activity/Recreational Departments and with home care family/professional caregivers, the poems act as a “bridge” for the reminiscing of past memories.
Here are some examples of the four themes: Childhood poems are about birthday cake, baseball, paper dolls, and back to school. Family poems remember photo albums, reunions, picnics, and drive in movies. Seasons of life include wedding bands, dancing, Sunday morning church service, and the four seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall). There are fifteen holidays and here are some examples of poems on Christmas: Christmas candles in church, Christmas cookies, Christmas wreath, and Santa Claus.
In Seasons of Life by Susan McLeod we experience overall pleasure by reading her variety of poems around the four themes. The poems engage in pleasant conversations remembering past memories.
Posted on April 5, 2023, in Interviews and tagged author, author interview, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, ebook, goodreads, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, poem, poet, poetry, read, reader, reading, Seasons of Life, story, Susan McLeod, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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