The Dementia Journey · A free resource from Caring Companions

100 Story Prompts

One hundred invitations, zero interviews. There are no wrong answers to any of these, and none of them test memory. If a prompt gets silence, smile and try another; no door is ever ruined by knocking gently.

How to use them: say one, then wait. Let the story wander; wandering is the point. If the details drift from the facts, follow the feeling, not the facts. And consider pressing record on your phone: their voice telling their story is a keepsake you will never regret making.

Childhood

  1. Tell me about the house you grew up in.
  2. You must have gotten into some trouble as a kid.
  3. Tell me about summers when you were young.
  4. What did kids do for fun back then?
  5. Tell me about your mother's kitchen.
  6. I bet winters were something else in those days.
  7. Tell me about your brothers and sisters, who was the wild one?

School days

  1. Tell me about your school, how far was the walk?
  2. Teachers were strict back then, I hear.
  3. Tell me about your best friend growing up.
  4. What were you good at in school?
  5. Tell me about recess and the games you all played.
  6. I bet you had a nickname.

Work

  1. Tell me about your first job.
  2. What was a hard day's work like in your line of work?
  3. You were good at your work, people say so.
  4. Tell me about the people you worked with.
  5. What did you buy with your first paycheck?
  6. Tell me about your boss, the good one or the bad one.
  7. What would you tell a young person starting out today?

Love & marriage

  1. Tell me about the day you two met.
  2. Who was the better dancer?
  3. Tell me about your wedding day, what was the weather like?
  4. What did you two do on dates?
  5. He must have worked hard to win you over.
  6. Tell me the secret to a long marriage.
  7. What song was "your song"?

Family

  1. Tell me about bringing your first baby home.
  2. What were your kids like when they were little?
  3. Tell me about your grandmother.
  4. Who in the family could always make you laugh?
  5. Tell me about Sunday dinners at your house.
  6. What did your father always say?
  7. Tell me about a family car, there's always a story in a family car.

Food

  1. Tell me about the best pie you ever made, or ever ate.
  2. What was cooking like in your family?
  3. What did your mother make when somebody was sick?
  4. Tell me about canning season.
  5. What food could you never say no to?
  6. Who taught you to cook?
  7. Tell me about the garden, what grew best?

Holidays

  1. Tell me about Christmas morning when you were young.
  2. What smells like the holidays to you?
  3. Tell me about Thanksgiving at your table, who carved?
  4. What was the best gift you ever gave somebody?
  5. Tell me about the Fourth of July in your town.
  6. Every family has one holiday story they still tell. What's yours?
  7. What decoration went up first every year?

Music

  1. What music did you dance to?
  2. Tell me about the radio, what did your family listen to?
  3. Sing me a little of one you love. I'll join in.
  4. Who was the best singer in your family?
  5. Tell me about the first record you ever owned.
  6. What song can still make you cry?

Faith

  1. Tell me about your church growing up.
  2. What hymn do you love best?
  3. Tell me about the church dinners, who cooked what?
  4. What did your mother teach you to pray?
  5. Tell me about a time your faith carried you.
  6. Sunday best: tell me about dressing up for church.

Community

  1. Tell me about the town where you grew up.
  2. What was the general store like?
  3. Tell me about your neighbors, the good ones and the nosy ones.
  4. When somebody in town needed help, what happened?
  5. Tell me about the county fair.
  6. Who was the town character everybody knew?

Travel

  1. Tell me about a trip you took that you never forgot.
  2. What was the farthest from home you ever went?
  3. Tell me about riding the train.
  4. Road trips: who drove, and who navigated?
  5. If we could go anywhere together tomorrow, where should we go?
  6. Tell me about the ocean, or the mountains, the first time you saw them.

Pets & animals

  1. Tell me about a dog you loved.
  2. Were you a cat person or a dog person, and don't lie to me.
  3. Tell me about the animals on the farm.
  4. What was the best-named pet your family ever had?
  5. Tell me about a horse, everybody from your day has a horse story.
  6. What animal always made you laugh?

Home

  1. Tell me about your first home of your own.
  2. What made a house feel like home to you?
  3. Tell me about the porch, who sat where?
  4. What was your favorite room, and what happened there?
  5. Tell me about laundry day, wash day was a whole thing, wasn't it?
  6. What hung on your walls?
  7. Tell me about the quilt, or the table, or the clock, the thing that's been in the family forever.

Accomplishments

  1. Tell me about something you built or made with your own hands.
  2. What are you proudest of?
  3. Tell me about a time you helped somebody who never forgot it.
  4. You raised a family through some hard years. How did you do it?
  5. Tell me about a prize, a ribbon, or a compliment you still remember.
  6. What do you know how to do that most people don't?
  7. What would your mother be proud of, seeing your life?

Everyday life

  1. Tell me about mornings in your house, who was up first?
  2. What did Saturday look like in your day?
  3. Tell me about your hands, they've done a lot of work.
  4. What's the best advice anybody ever gave you?
  5. Tell me about your favorite chair.
  6. What always made you laugh, no matter what?
  7. Tell me what a perfect ordinary day would look like.
  8. You've seen a lot of years. What matters, in the end?

From The Dementia Journey: A Free Course for Families Caring for Someone They Love · mo-care.com/dementia-journey · Caring Companions In-Home Senior Care, Springfield, MO · (417) 234-8494
This tool is education, not medical advice.