Elaine's Voice

This first instalment interviews Elaine Higgs, whose often repeated quote gave both name and inspiration to the series; life has some funny little twists and turns along the way, and what you don’t know, you don’t worry about.

This is a phrase that Elaine’s family has come to know by heart. It’s repeated like grammar, used to end a story or transition to a new one, used to fill in silence when the conversation slips away from her. Talking with her is an ebb and flow of the same stories, it’s everything she remembers most prominently. With each repetition comes the same cadence, the same word choice, the same tone.

By collecting these moments and layering her repetition throughout a two hour conversation into one audio, the video component of this series has been able to capture the experience of this repetition and it’s links to her dementia, whilst also preserving theses stories for the future. Find the video component here: https://www.youtube.com/@StainedGlass.mp4

In Australia, there’s “an estimated 433,300 people living with dementia” (Dementia Australia, 2025). By collecting Elaine’s memories, this series puts a face to one of those 433,300 people, and reminds us both that there is more beyond dementia and that the topic is a tough conversation we should have with our loved ones in case they will experience it. As Elaine says, “there’s certain things I’ve forgotten, but quite a lot I haven’t forgotten”; a reminder that the memories and the person behind dementia should not be forgotten.