This week, This is Haslemere met up with Rachel Lewis.

Rachel has been helping in our local community for a number of years now. During COVID, she was at the heart of setting up a support group in Grayshott to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community were cared for and protected.

More recently, she has been busy running two complimentary businesses - Presenting your Past and The Life Story team. The life story books that Rachel creates enable people to celebrate lives, capture stories and connect with loved ones. They can also serve a much deeper purpose and can have a hugely positive impact on self esteem, wellbeing and social connections. They are even proven to help tackle loneliness, memory loss, end-of-life planning and community connection. 

In Rachel's own words, 'The Life Story Books I’ve helped create have been as diverse as the people I’ve worked with - books ranging from 24 pages to over 240 pages. Clients aged from 18 to 102, with people from all walks of life.  Everyone has also had a different motivation for creating a book.  For some people, it has been simply a fun, creative project. Other people have been inspired to share family stories or capture social history.  For others, the appeal has been to improve person-centred care, as these books are the perfect way for others to see beyond a diagnosis or stage of life. Whatever the motivation, it has been a joy to help people celebrate the lives of loved ones, capture important stories and help others connect with life in a meaningful way.'

As part of this work, she has continued to work to support the local community. 

As a volunteer for Age UK Surrey, Rachel established a Life Story project called 'My Life, My Story’.  This involved training befrienders so that they could create Life Story Books with the people they were already working with.  Rachel developed a clear and easy-to-follow framework for people to use using a Q & A format, so that they could cover off key life ‘chapters.’ Rachel also provided training and support for some of the common challenges that can come up when puttting together someone's life story - dealing with painful memories, filling in memory ‘gaps’ and sourcing photographs for example. Once the befriender had collated the raw material - the photos and stories - Rachel then worked with them to design and print the Life Story Book.

Rachel has also provided training to staff and members at the Brigitte Trust, a group for people with a terminal illness, and at Sage House Dementia Support, where she trained carers. These workshops focused specifically on supporting carers who work with people with learning disabilities and the challenges of creating Life Story Books for individuals in the care system.

Another area Rachel loves to work in is future planning. Recently she collaborated with Future Care Matters, to help people use Life Story Books for their future planning.  Rachel sees Life Story Books as the ‘icing on the cake’ when it comes to future care. Of course, it's essential to look at medical and legal arrangements. But it’s also vital to ask - ‘Who is this person?’ - so that you can honour their values, memories, hopes and identity. It may be the 'icing on the cake' but the personal touch that a life story book can bring really resonated with us.

Rachel has also been working with Age Concern in Petersfield and at The Hive in Guildford.  She has even provided training at The Hunter Centre in Haslemere.

She's now keen to spread the word further about the benefits that Life Story Books can bring. She is already busy talking to volunteer groups and charities locally to see how her work may be of help to them. However, if you know of a group or individual that may benefit, please do reach out to Rachel directly. She would be delighted to hear from you.