Dementia autobiography at Settle Stories

She will be performing her autobiographical story ‘I Don’t Know What I’m Supposed To Be Doing’, a tale of Mother-Daughter love and living with and through dementia this October at Settle Stories. ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing’ was something Emma’s mum said repeatedly in the early days of her dementia.

Over 10 years later, now her mother has died, Emma finds herself asking the question for herself.

Using storytelling, photos, and library books, she weaves a funny, moving and inspiring tale following the progression of dementia, love and life re-evaluation. Both performances fall in National Libraries week which is significant to Emma. Emma’s Mum was a librarian, Emma is a library assistant.

The world of the story is dominated by a love for books.Emma said: “Challenging the stigma surrounding dementia is important. Sometimes we forget that people living with dementia are mature, complex and beautiful human beings. We just see the label ‘dementia’ and everything else falls to the side. We think of dementia as just a negative. “It can be sad, but it’s not all bad. My mum’s dementia allowed us to have a different relationship, one where I saw her humanity more and one that was more tender, more loving.”

Emma Decent will be performing at The Joinery in Settle this Friday, October 12, from 7pm. Call 05603 845693 for tickets.