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The Power and Value of Storytelling

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, many media outlets are focusing on stories about veterans and what they have meant to our country. But sadly, after the holiday and the parades, those stories will be a distant memory. Too often, we downplay the value of a story. 

We love this quote from Charlotte R. Dixon: “A story can change your life, whether you are reading it or writing it, but especially when you are writing it. A story can save your life. And stories may even be capable of saving the world.”

One of our residents, Bob, and his wife Mary, pose for a photo before his veteran honor flight last year.

Simply put, stories are critical for understanding and giving meaning to our lives. They can inspire us, move us to emotion, and change our way of thinking. Stories make us who we are. They are important, and here at Willow Brook, we have made it a point to regularly share stories about our residents. Why? We believe each and every one of them has a tale worth telling.  

Especially when it comes to our veterans, we must act quickly to preserve the stories that often go untold. According to the National World War II Museum, of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII, approximately 240,000 are still alive. And according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, of the 500,000 Korean War veterans still living, about 600 of those die every day. 

At The Babbling Brook, we have had the good fortune to talk to many Willow Brook residents, veteran and non-veteran alike, and to feature them in our quarterly Reflections newsletter, on our website, and in social media posts. Both of us (Cathy and Christina) heard a story earlier this week that changed our perception of veterans who have refused to talk about their experiences.

A veteran we were interviewing for an upcoming issue of Reflections told us that after he returned home from the Korean War (he was a junior in high school when he was drafted!), he had a very hard time reconciling all he had seen and experienced. The advice from his doctor was this: if he wanted to live, he needed to do everything in his power to completely forget the war. He must erase it from his memory.

"All of a sudden, we had a new empathy for the legions of veterans who never uttered a word about their experiences, even to their own family, choosing instead to carry the heaviness of stifled memories."

Our hearts broke, thinking about all the other veterans who were likely given similar advice. Today, we approach trauma much differently, but back then, this is what so many were told. 

All of a sudden, we had a new empathy for the legions of veterans who never uttered a word about their experiences, even to their own family, choosing instead to carry the heaviness of stifled memories. To speak of these things was to admit that the war existed, and to stir up a flood of feelings they had never been given the tools to process.

The veteran who was told to erase his memories found it within himself to share them with us, and for that, we are deeply grateful. At Willow Brook, we will continue to value and tell the incredible stories of our residents as often as we are able, with their permission, because stories are important. They shape who we are and how we exist and interact in the world. We carry them in our bodies, our minds, and our hearts. Some even theorize that our memories—our stories—can be passed down through our DNA.

Blessedly, we do not have to have a holiday to share our stories; we can start any time. We can write them down, we can speak them aloud, we can record them on our phone, we can tell them to our children and grandchildren. Our charge to you this week? Just Begin:

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