I’m a member of the International Center for Life Story Innovation and Practice (ICLIP), and, earlier this month, I attended the ICLIP virtual conference. This is my second time to attend the conference. I spoke at the 2022 conference while finishing my graduate studies at the University of Connecticut. This year’s conference was an opportunity to reconnect with some of my former professors and to meet and learn from people around the world who are passionate about reminiscence and life story work – pioneers, leading researchers, teachers, and practitioners in the field. It was an honor to sit in the same “room” with those whose articles and books I’ve read and whose work has inspired me.
Some of the highlights of the conference:
The keynote speaker for the conference was Dr.Elizabeth Keating (Professor at The University of Texas at Austin). Dr. Keating’s keynote was “The Questions We Don’t Ask but Should to Uncover Stories and Create Connection” where she discussed her work as an anthropologist to unearth stories & her most recent book “The Essential Questions”. She has interviewed many individuals, developed questions that unlock stories, and taught her students to do the same. I had several takeaways from her presentation, but one of my favorite parts of her talk was when she spoke about mistakes she made in collecting stories from her mother. She said that when she interviewed her mother, she “only formulated questions based on information I already knew.” She said, “I asked her about people in the family when now I wish I’d ask about my mother herself, and her relationship to the world.” She spoke about the interviewer (in a personal or professional role) stepping out of one’s frame of reference when we ask questions of a storyteller. It’s not an easy skill, but a critical one for both good listening and the creation of the very best legacy films. Keating comments that this is the “anthropological approach”.
I was invited to facilitate a session with Dr. Robin Mintzer & Dr. Diana Taylor. The topic was “Sibling Relationships”. Mintzer and Taylor used a guided autobiography process with attendees to help them uncover some family stories & then they explored some of the research that’s being done to explore these relationships. They recommended two books which I’ve added to my Spring reading list: “The Sibling Effect” by Jeffrey Kluger and “Sibling Therapy” by Karen Gail Lewis.
Other sessions I attended:
– Foster Lifebooks that Help Children Heal with Lisa Kaichen, President of ResourceWorks, LLC. I tuned into this because I am very familiar with Carrying Hope (an Austin-based non-profit that aims to improve the lives of youth and families who have been impacted by the foster care system). Sacred Stories Advisory Group Member, Kristin Finan, is the organization’s co-founder and has done extensive work with foster children. I was curious about Kaichen’s lifebooks as another resource for children, foster families, and residential care facilities. I think it’s time for Lisa & Kristin to meet each other!
– The Best of Both Worlds: When Life Stories Meet Digital Storytelling. Lisa Joworski, R/TRO and Dr. Michael Long presented this workshop about the foundational principles, processes, and technologies of the Digital Storytelling (DST) methodology used by Common Language DST facilitators around the world. The process of DST includes unique facilitation components, skills, and techniques that help participants create meaningful Digital Story about their lives. Michael Long is the founder of Common Language DST, and Lisa has become an industry collaborator and friend. Lisa lives in Canada, but we are planning to meet up in person soon. Check out Lisa’s new website and one of her latest video shorts called “Capturing Essence”.
– Voices of Older Drag Queens (Age 50+). One of my UConn professors, Dr. Thomas Long, facilitated the discussion, and he & I had a fun time reconnecting in the chat. The study about drag queens was prompted by one of the researchers’ personal experiences with her son. The investigators collected data related to all life stages and included responses to questions about parents, siblings, and other close relationships. The interviews illuminated shared episodic events and reflections on the history of drag. Four presenters shared the life stories of the older drag queens interviewed, as well as innovation and best practices through the lens of their method approach.
– An Empowering Story: Writing for Life presented by Dr. Gerben Westerhof. “Empowering Story” is a new 12-week intervention being used to enhance personal recovery in individuals with personality disorders. Writing assignments about the past, present, and future, support the exploration of new perspectives on one’s life, which are shared within the group and documented in a digital application to print a unique life storybook. Patients and clinicians report seeing this work as a turning point to recovery and give positive feedback about the intervention. Dr. Westerhof is a professor in narrative psychology and technology at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. He is the director of the Life Story Lab and chair of the Department of Psychology, Health, and Technology at that university & has written numerous articles. I learned a lot from this presentation, and I hope the workbook is translated from Dutch to English soon so that it can become more accessible.
– Remembered Relations and Relations of Remembrance: How Does Relationality Matter in Late-Life Reminiscence? Dr. Jessica Robbins-Panko is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Gerontology and Department of Anthropology at Wayne State University and is currently enrolled in the graduate studies program at UConn that I completed. Her presentation discussed how multi-scalar relations shape personhood in late-life reminiscence practices. It sounds like she is mid-project, and I plan to follow up to learn more about her research findings. Stay tuned…
– Cameron Graham, CEO & CoFounder of Storri, presented new developments for his company using AI. Mr. Graham was also a speaker at the recent Roots Tech convention where Generative AI was a hot topic for discussion. Here’s a link to some of the work STORRI is doing, backed by research of Dr. Juliette Shellman and students at the University of Connecticut.
– Dr. Allison Kris was elected as the new president of ICLIP Board. She presented a workshop on “Remembering Together: The Use of Reminiscence Enhances Well-being in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia”. Because of previous life story work that we’ve done with those living with dementia, we found the presentation to be encouraging. Her research team explored how living environments that contain a wide array of personal memorabilia and memory-stimulating cues have the potential to support cognitive functioning and enrich life.
If you are interested in connecting with researchers, clinicians, educators, students, and older adults to further understand and expand the field of reminiscence and life review, watch for 2026 conference details.