Sights, sounds, smells – Memories are made of these

Published 10:00 pm Monday, June 22, 2015

When you move later in life to a new place and leave behind your long time friends, the most difficult part of the move is often making new friends. You immerse yourself in activities and the community, hoping you will connect with someone who happens into your life. For me, one of those people is a busy woman named Robin Edgar. She discovered that I was a johnny-come-lately to writing. Robin is a writer and author and this gave us a starting point for a new friendship.

 Robin was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, N.Y. She started writing books as a child and preferred this activity when other children would go out to play. Early on as an adult, acting took precedence over her writing. At one point she began teaching mime workshops and discovered this was helpful for children with disabilities. She formed a theater group called the Exceptional Theater Company.

“I was involved with teaching workshops, doing some commercials, and working with the theater company. Then life took an unexpected turn. I was in an accident on my bicycle and this brought my acting career to an end,” she explains. “I turned to my writing and this took me in many new directions.”

 Robin began writing a column for the Sun Sentinel in Palm Beach County.

 “I wanted to write positive stories. So much in the newspaper is negative and I believed that people want to read good news,” she smiles. “So I began doing profiles of people, human interest type stories.”

 She met her husband, artist David Edgar, about this time. While they were attending classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Robin realized that there was a need for people to learn life writing and proposed a workshop for the school.

 “This was when I began developing my reminiscence workshops. My mother had died after a long struggle with cancer. She had confided that her biggest fear wasn’t dying, but dying alone in a hospital room. I promised her that I would be there for her, and I was. To celebrate my time with her and remember my life with her, I wrote a book called, In My Mother’s Kitchen. It was through this process that I was able to grieve and heal,” she continues. “I developed what I call the healing power of reminiscence and use the senses to bring back memories and feelings. Smells, sight, hearing are all powerful tools to help us remember.”

 Her book has become the basis for her workshops. Each chapter ends with exercises to help the reader discover forgotten events and memories. The workshops are helpful to anyone dealing with grieving over a loss but also are utilized by people to record their memories for the next generation.

 Robin describes, “We don’t always have the opportunity to tell the next generation about our lives. Our senses can provide the details that add interest, or what I call the color, to the stories we want to pass down to children and grandchildren. Like, ‘what did the curtains look like?’ Or ‘where was the kitchen sink located?’ ”

 Robin originally self-published her book, which went on to a second printing and second edition selling over 6,000 copies.  Robin and Dave eventually moved to Charlotte where she worked with the Charlotte History Museum.

 “I developed a series of interviews with people who had lived thru the Great Depression. I wanted to hear their stories, how they survived, what lessons they still carried with them, and what advice could they give young people today.” The exhibit became so successful that Robin was able to turn it into a PBS production.

 Now enjoying life in their Lake Lanier home, Robin often contributes to the Tryon Daily Bulletin with continuing stories of the Depression plus interviews with veterans, often from WWII or Viet Nam. She also conducts her reminiscence workshops at LaurelWoods, The Meeting Place, and Ridgerest in Columbus. More information is online at robinedgar.com.