Life Story Lab

Community Outreach

Thanks for the memory!

The Life Story Lab joined fellow colleagues and friends of the community in the Walk to End Alzheimers, honoring friends and family affected by dementia.

Community Engagement: Presenting at the Institute for Learning in Retirement

I'm still me! Living with dementia

Dr. Bluck and Dr. Lind worked with early dementia patients to develop a tangible memory book of their life story from the compilation of important life memories as told by participants.

Telling Life Stories

Dr. Bluck was an invited speaker at the Six O’Clock Scholars program at the University Women’s Club this month. Attendees enjoyed a presentation and lively discussion about autobiographical memory and life stories over dinner.

Before I Die Wall

The Life Story Lab, (Director: Dr. Susan Bluck), hosts a yearly 'Before I Die Wall' in partnership with UF Health. The Before I Die Wall is a global project inviting people to reflect on how to live fully, given the finitude of life.

Death over Dinner

The Life Story Lab sponsors Death Over Dinner events as part of a national death education initiative encouraging conversations about death and end-of-life wishes between family, friends, and strangers in addition to the provision of information on Advance Directives.

Thanks For The Memory

The Life Story Lab joined fellow colleagues and friends of the community in the Walk to End Alzheimers, honoring friends and family affected by dementia.

Poster Day

Graduate and undergraduate students from the Life Story Lab (Director: Susan Bluck) presented their research on aging as part of a ‘town-and-gown event’ at Oak Hammock, sponsored by the Institute for Learning in Retirement. Life Story Lab presentations covered topics such as: personal growth in late life (Hanna Akerland et al.), positive responses to loss (Shubam Sharma et al.) and evaluation of experiential learning aimed at closing the communication gap between older patients and young nurses at end-of-life (Sam Stilley et al.).

Death at the Carlos Museum

Dr. Bluck and Emily Mroz, MS, gave an invited, interactive talk to docents at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. The museum collection holds many objects and artefacts that are death-related. Their talk focused on how to engage in death education during COVID-19 with children and teens who view the museum collections.

• Science of Care Summit, 2024
• Sueddeutsche Zeitung Magazin. Das Leben Nach Dem Tod [Life after Death].
• Forbes: YOLO: Awareness of mortality
• Therapytips.org:  Thinking about death helps figure out life
• The New York Times: When a Grandchild Asks, ‘Are You Going to Die?’
• The Wall Street Journal: Why You Should Write a Memoir – Even if Nobody Will Read It
• Slate: The Mysteriously Memorable 20s
• Nautilus: How Nostalgia Made America Great Again
• The Alligator: Before I Die Wall Encourages Future Planning
• Psychology Today: Maintaining The Bond Through Living Memorialization
• New Yorker Magazine: How to Become Virtually Immortal
• The Orlando Sentinel: Hospice Home Videos Keep Memories Alive
• The University of Florida Psychology Department: Bluck Award Recipient
• Florida Magazine: In the Classroom: Life Experience
• CLAS Notes: The Scrapbook in Your Mind
• The Gainesville Sun: Memories are the Gift of a Lifetime
• The Senior Times Magazine: What’s Your Story?
• The Senior Times Magazine: Institute for Learning in Retirement
• The Gainesville Sun: Bluck Named Award Recipient
• Monitor on Psychology: Feelings’ Sway Over Memory
• The Boston Globe: Why Does Parenthood Make Us Nostalgic?

Social Media

For regular updates on the Life Story Lab and all things Psychology at UF, please check out the UF Department of Psychology Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UFPsychologyDEPT/