by Grazia Chiarini
It is difficult to think, if you do not try, that stylized images, in black and white, with words and writing proposals, are capable of arousing many memories, emotions and a few tears, especially when “playing” in presence. Yet, with the game “My Life”, developed as part of the European project My Life in Europe, in its apparent simplicity but with solid methodological foundations, all of this can be experienced. Both individual players and those who play in online groups tell us about it, in which people enrolled in various associations such as the Free University of Autobiography of Anghiari, the Italian Society of Narrative Medicine, the Free Authors Association of Livorno and FIDAPA participate. of San Miniato.
“It was a simple and pleasant way to remember. Initially I did not think that such stylized images, in black and white, could make me open interior spaces that have been neglected or forgotten for years. It was a nice surprise to feel involved naturally and without fear. I felt the fluidity in the steps and how to cultivate trust in a shared garden. Heartfelt thanks ”writes Brigitte, a participant in the individual game.
Emotions and enthusiasm can also be read in the eyes and smiles of Annagrazia and the other participants in the group in presence at the Library of Santa Croce sull’Arno, together with those who, although belonging to the same group, write online from home because they cannot come headquarter.
This too can be done with the My Life game: feel close while being far away.
The animators of the RSA Meacci of Santa Croce sull’Arno and of the RSA Villa Serena di Montaione tell of the interest that the guests show for this game and of the stories, recorded and transcribed by them, on the first sixteen cards of the 64 deck, such as requested in the testing phase that began in August 2022.
“The elderly, arranged in a circle, listen attentively to those who narrate a piece of their life, stimulated by the paper that is shown. They are happy and eager for their turn to come to tell their story” – describes Irene, animator, of “Meacci”, who collected 16 stories for each of the participants.
“Can we use the game even after the trial ends in October?” asks Debora who, together with Fabiana, has transcribed the stories told by the guests of Villa Serena, capturing their emotional implications.
Of course! The game can be downloaded for free from the My Life in Europe website and has no time limit. It is possible, using the same username and password, to write again using the same deck or experimenting with other decks of cards, individually or in company, discovering or re-discovering that one’s life is made up of many small memories that intertwine, yes they add up, they emerge from oblivion. Tile after tile we can build an ever-larger mosaic, our first rudimentary autobiography, which we can re-read, re-write, re-sew, re-think, re-invent like magic. We can then, if we wish, read the stories that others, like us, have written and published on the My Life in Europe website, to learn about, find common experiences, new food for thought and memories, as in a game of mirrors.
The words of by P. Rinderknecht, and L. Pérez Aguirre, taken from the “Handbook of Games for children and young people” resound: “The game […] causes liberation when it helps us to discover, with the joy of a freedom that anticipates , other ways of being, which break the closed circle of what seems fatally immutable”.
