May 15, 2009
David Greenberger is on a mission to speak for people living with Alzheimer's and other memory loss diseases, but he's not lobbying Congress or soliciting online donations. He's simple telling their stories.
After a post-art school gig in a Milwaukee nursing home 30 years ago, Greenberger traded in his paintbrushes for the spoken word. He empowers Alzheimer's patients by giving voice to their stories and setting them to music.
Some of the patients' stories embody deep loneliness and others project an incredible optimism, despite the gravity of the illness.
"One of the things I found to be true through this whole project, was that no matter how profound the memory loss was, everybody who agreed to sit with me and talk still possessed something of the dynamic of how a conversation works," Greenberger tells NPR's Joseph Shapiro in a piece to air this weekend on All Things Considered.
The video above shows Greenberger and his guitarist collaborator Paul Cebar rehearsing "Swung," the story of a woman who, at age 8, had the last laugh when her sister scolded her for twirling around too freely in a new dress.
Check NPR Music for more.
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