Forgetfulness, Feelings & Farnarkling

Forgetfulness, Feelings & Farnarkling Book

Reflections on Aged Care and How you can make a difference

Jenny Masters Illustrator Author Anne Kelly

Forgetfulness, Feelings & Farnarkling (Farnarkling – the group activity where everyone sits around discussing the need to ‘do something’ but nothing actually happens – Urban Dictionary)

The project began in mid-2012 – an idea born from a discussion between two friends, artist Jenny Masters and dementia consultant Anne Kelly. Both had been touched in personal ways by dementia and had seen examples of skilled, compassionate care within dementia support services. However, they were also aware of examples of care deficits at the individual or organisational level and the question arose “What can we do to change this?”

By telling peoples’ own stories and highlighting aspects of life from the points of view of people living with dementia, and the people close to them, they hoped to encourage discussion and to challenge existing care systems and practise, with faith that any modern dynamic enterprise thrives on feedback from its customer base.

With occasional artistic license, this collection of illustrations represents real people’s stories from almost 30 years of working in aged care. The book uses humour as a strategy to encourage reflection on practice without defensiveness. We trust that these combined stories will provide the strength of evidence of some outcomes of the current system of care and therefore will provoke reflection and action. Many examples of innovative actions are given.

Each illustration's accompanying story and explanation gives life to the voices of people with dementia.

This provocative and inspirational book.

“This is a must-read for anyone who is connected personally or professionally to dementia care. Anne has beautifully captured the realities of living with dementia as well as the realities faced by those who work with such commitment and dedication to meeting the needs of those in their care. This book speaks to the need for change and provides practical suggestions that will help both families and professionals improve the lives of those living with dementia.”

Gail Elliot DementiAbility Canada

Specifications

• Weight 0.35 kg
• Dimensions 20 × 1 × 20 cm