Abstract
Personal dementia care partners, those who journey with the Beloved into and through the land of forgetfulness, number in the scores of millions globally. Their 24/7 presence with the Beloved was identified over 30 years ago by Sherwin Nuland MD in How We Die as “spiritually exhausting.” Yet over those three decades little has been done to address the spiritual isolation, uncertainty and despair experienced by these care partners. This workshop quietly and meditatively–much like the presenter’s 2024 book, In the Land of Forgetfulness–explores the possibilities for spiritual nurturing and formation within dementia caregiving. An initial presentation is followed by conversation focused on shifting personal and family dementia care from an infinite demand with finite resources to the sense of engagement in a finite circumstance with infinite resources available, Primary resources for the conversation are the works and reflections of contemplatives and mystics whose language of counsel towards spiritual formation parallels the language we use to describe dementia from the outside looking in. Despair is a spiritual state, and can be addressed spiritually.
Presenters
Wayne EwingStaff Writer/Photographer, Human interest, feature stories, Wet Mountain Tribune, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
DEMENTIA CARE, SPIRITUAL FORMATION, PRAXIS
