Storiesalive:

Retiring the Champ

About This Story l Bringing this Story to Your Conference or Community l
What People Are Saying l About Judith Black

What People Are Saying About This Story

American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, Volume 20, Number 5, September/October 2005 CD Review by Susan O'Neill, RN:
"As a registered nurse and hospice volunteer who has worked with geriatric patients, I found Black's CD to be a poignant reminder of the humanity of the patient and the complexity of patient relationships to family and environment. We caregivers, in our crowded tharapeutic settings, can forget as we answer the bell for the twentieth time that our patien tis an individual with a unique history, that control is still vital to him/her, and that losing one's memory must not mean losing one's identity."

The Boston Globe says: "Like most of Black's stories, it's funny and touching, filled with colorful characters, accents and songs. And it's thought provoking."

Glenn Morrow, editor of the The Museletter says: "Fearless, fierce and funny, Judith Black goes where no storyteller dares. Trina is an elder like none found in the storybooks....she is as fierce and untouchable as molten metal -- and she is the hero of this tale. In this story Judith Black takes us on Trina's journey to death, a raging against the fading of the light, and on her own journey as a deeply conflicted caretaker. Dark as this passage might seem, Judith fills it with funhouse mirrors in which we come upon ourselves in unexpected perspectives and laugh at the resemblance. In this work of extraordinary honesty, compassion, and humor, Judith Black does the truest work of the storyteller: to show us how our lives are story, and how stories enable us to live our lives."

Jewish Journal of Boston Archives, Town Online, May 07, 2002, Inside story "Storyteller Judith Black turns to her own family for a tale of aging and redemption." by Bette Wineblatt Keva.

The Boston Sunday Globe, March 31, 2002, Storyteller Judith Black, "A mother-in-law's tale" by Wendy Killeen.

Mobsy Strange Kennedy, The Improper Bostonian says:
"Judith Black is like a repertory copany of one...She wittily conveys the trials and tribulations of one of life's trickiest passages, negotiating our parents' sometimes long and winding ending."

Mark R. Arnold, editor of The Jewish Journal says:
"A superb one-woman show by the multi-talented Ms. Black. She can swagger like a sailor or act meek as a mouse. Her emotional range seems boundless."

Judy Soroko, Hospice of the North Shore says:
"What a wonderful evening-poignantly comical and definitely refective. There were elements of all of our lives portrayed on the stage."

Judith Blackburn, executive director of Merrimack River Valley House says:
"I saw your incredible show "Retiring the Champ" on Sunday with three colleagues and we are still in awe! I am a social worker and executive director of a 136 year old, private non-profit retirement home for women in Lowell. My colleagues and I have considerable ALZ, assisted living, and nursing home experience, so your show truly struck a nerve. It has become fashionable to book "renowned" physicians or speakers from the ALZ foundation. Regrettably, they cannot begin to get the message across in nearly as eloquent, poignant or credible manner as you do. Thank you for a[n] inspired and inspiring performance. I look forward to hearing from you."

Arlene Silverlieb, director of Jack Satter House/Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged says:
"Retiring the Champ is magnificent. It is so completely relevant to the work we do, enabling us a sensitive alternative window into the world we inhabit daily. I have invited everyone to come see the performance that we have booked for our staff training."

Robert V. Gallant, executive director of Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc.
"Magnificent...a great gift you have to be able to bring the audience safely along though a tortuous journey."

Dr. Allison Brooks says:
"I feel that I learned more in a couple of hours with you than in 20 years as a physician on the job."