FRAGMENTS OF THE SOUL: EMOTIONS OF T HE ELDERLY
The book was organ ized by G ricelda Azevedo Arrieta and Lou rdes da S i lva G i l , m e mbers of the program "The U n iversity meeti n g the com m u n ity, a space for the eld erly", U L B RATI , d eveloped i n the Lutheran University of Brazi l , Canoas -RS. D u ring the a rt and l iteratu re workshops, reports and d rawi ngs, w h i c h expressed t h e p e rcept i o n s of t h e e l d e rly regarding this phase of their lives , were collected. The material was classified and d istri buted accord i n g to its content by the stud ents and the organ izers of the workshop.
The book has 1 1 4 pages, which are distri buted among its 8 chapters . There are 8 i l l u strations, which , i n genera l , d ivide the book i n chapters . The main subjects presented in the book will be shown as follows . I n the i ntrod u ction there is a brief d iscussion on the i nterpretations that a re attri b uted to the logotype of U L B RATI . The logotype is a tree with clocks on it. The tree represents the different ph ases i n l ife and the clocks the h istory of l ife of each i n d ivi d u a l .
I n the fi rst and second chapter it presents the program and organ ization , the ta rget p u b l i c (people who are 50 or older), objectives , methodology of work with the partici pants . It also approaches situations of the workshops which resu lted in the written and visual representation of the themes p roposed having as a starting point the read i n g of s h o rt sto ry La Loba fro m the book Mulheres que correm com lobos (Women that Run with Wolves) by C l a rissa P i n kola Estes .
I n the cha pter Come;ou 0 exercfcio da Loba, texts and commentaries about who the she-wolf could be, are presented . In these texts it is possible to observe that the participants look at themselves and try to understand personal matters, acknowledge their personal val u e , as wel l as d e m onstrate the pleasu re they experienced throug h writi n g .
Sensa;5es (Sensations) is t h e next topic. It deals with revelations and emotions of happiness and
Ariane Graciotto
nostalgia related to experiences in the past and in the present. I t has some relation with the fith chapter that presents the theme friendship and friends. The reports of the elderly m e ntion the i m portance of cu ltivati ng friendships, sharing moments i n life and the feeling of nostalgia regard i n g adventu res .
The perceptio n of a g i n g , its myths, disesteem X estimation is part of the sixth chapter. In this cha pter topics such as the association of elderly to less val u e is, t h e overprotection o f children, depreciating language used by society and the demystification of perceptions regard i n g the elderly are criticized .
The seventh chapter, Coisas de valor precioso ou inestimavel para as oficineiras ( P recious and invaluable things for the workshop organ izers) has the report of sign ifi cant facts , people, places and special objects .
I n the last cha pter, the participa nts report the d ificu lties and j oys they faced in the workshops and also express their o p i n ions regarding life and ag i n g .
After read i n g the book w e observe t h e need of rethinking aging through the perspective of the elderly. The book provides easy reading and agreeable visual organization. The organizers maintain the authenticity of the different auth ors who write one of the chapters i n the book. It conte m p l ates the idea of construction of someth ing (aging) through fragments (opinions).
It is suggested that the short story, which was used as the starting point of the activities, be divulged and that an eva l u atio n of the repots presented at the end of next prog rams of U L B RATI be done in order to detect changes i n the personal and social behavior noticed by students .
This book is recom mended t o a l l o f those who relate to elderly people and are interested i n rescu ing their value as well as the i m portance of learning d u ring the process of a g i n g .
