Long-term memory endures and short-term memory becomes tenuous in old age. We are our memories. Linking an old person to their experience has been shown to reaffirm 'the self'. If this is done skillfully, sensitively and without intrusion, the benefits are twofold. First, and most important, the old person becomes less anxious, cut off and confused and, in linking to the past, is more able to participate in the present. Second, it may only be possible for those who care for confused old people to understand their worries and pre-occupations if their past lives are known and respected. These...