Themes of care giving and receiving in the interconnecting stories of a mother living with dementia and her adult son: A single-case life story study

Life story work is generally regarded as a way for people living with dementia to maintain their connection with the past and facilitate meaningful communication in the present. This paper presents a single-case life story study that highlights themes of care giving and receiving in the interconnecting stories of a mother living with dementia and her adult son. The project methodology was informed by ideas and practices from both drama therapy and narrative therapy and, as such, combined a performative approach to life story work with a creative, collaborative approach to communication. The work is discussed in light of recent conversations about citizenship and dementia (Baldwin, 2008; Baldwin & Greason, 2016; Brannelly, 2016) that highlight the essential interdependence of people's lives and narratives as justification for more egalitarian relationships between people living with dementia and their partners in care.