Birren Coaches ‘Autobiography 101’

Plato’s famous credo ‘The life which is unexamined is not worth living’ speaks directly to Dr. James Birren’s passion over the past 30 years. Birren, a longtime Palisadian, is in the business of guiding other people to write their life stories. He brings to the task a lifetime of distinguished teaching and writing as the former associate director of the UCLA Center on Aging and founding dean of the USC Andrus Center of Gerontology. ‘It’s addictive; there’s such power in hearing people’s life stories,’ says Birren, who has co-authored two books on the subject. He points out that the benefits of autobiography are broader and more far-reaching than simply recording one’s life for family and posterity. ‘Lots of good things come out of it,’ he says. The process often rekindles old interests and sparks optimism about the future, which makes thinking about goals and aspirations a natural conclusion to the experience. And the autobiographical journey is not an isolated affair, with sharing in a group being a basic tenet of the program. ‘Working with others helps to stimulate recall of events, feelings and details of settings that might be overlooked or forgotten by an individual writing alone,’ notes Birren, who has taught his popular course all over the world. Closer to home, Birren will teach two courses this month at UCLA Extension. For the mental health professional, ‘Use of Autobiography in Clinical Practice,’ a new one-day conference, will be offered on Saturday, May 15. The other class, designed for a general audience, is called ‘Guided Autobiography: Organizing Your Life Story’ and meets on six Saturdays beginning May 22. During the sessions, major themes of life’family, money, health, spirituality and values’ are explored through writing assignments and group discussion. ‘We don’t evaluate or give interpretations of another’s life,’ Birren says. ‘We want an individual to come to his or her own conclusions.’ Ultimately, the course comes around to mining the history of one’s hopes and dreams, concluding with the question: What do you want to do right now? The intimacy of the group follows a predictable pattern. ‘There’s an implicit cadence,’ says Birren. ‘People recoil if you share too much too soon. By the third session, though, things are quite open.’ Birren, who is a vital 86, has taught 20- and 90-year-olds in the same group. ‘The energy of the young and experience of the old do very well together,’ he says. Strong bonds often form among class members, with many groups continuing to meet for years. ‘Just as having coffee with a friend can be therapeutic, so can sharing one’s life story,’ says Birren. ‘We’re living in an impersonal age. I think that’s why there’s such a growing interest in this.’ Birren and his wife, Betty, moved to the Palisades in 1965. Internationally recognized for his work in gerontology, Birren has published extensively in the area of aging. To learn more about the UCLA course offerings, call 825-2301 or go online to www.uclaextension.edu.