PEACE OF MIND
Music as Medicine:
A Gateway to Memory
by Ryan Zepp
H
ave you ever heard a
song that instantaneously transported you back
to specific moments of
your life? With all of its associated
sounds, visuals, and feelings, this is a
nostalgic excursion that we all take
throughout our lives.
The documentary film, Alive Inside,
follows social worker and founder of
the nonprofit organization Music &
Memory (musicandmemory.org),
20 IMAGINE l SPRING 2016
Dan Cohen, as he demonstrates how
a song that holds special meaning for
a person with Alzheimer’s or another
form of dementia can serve as an
effective treatment by reconnecting
them with memories that support
their own self-identity in the midst
of it fading away. For filmmaker
Michael Rossato-Bennett, what began
as a one-day project turned into a
three-year journey with Dan to bring
awareness to personalized music