Helping Older Adults Find Meaning and Purpose Through Storytelling

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a storytelling project that was designed to help community-dwelling older adults find meaning and purpose in their lives through reminiscing about the past. The storytelling project was successful not only for the older adults who participated but also for the nursing students, who were given an opportunity to learn about interviewing and communicating with older adults. The value of life review and storytelling as a nursing intervention became evident from this project. When time is taken to listen to the valuable stories and life lessons of the older population, nurses create a better understanding of their patients while their patients recall special memories and feel proud of their lives.