Dr John Irvine Reflects on Life and Heroes in 80 Stories High

by LukeAdmin

by jessica sanford

Q&A with Dr John Irvine, author of “80 Stories High”

Leading Child Psychologist Dr John Irvine has spent decades working with children and families. Over his celebrated career he has worked as an academic, written books, and founded the READ clinic, dedicated to providing psychological services on the Central Coast. To coincide with his 80th birthday, Dr John has written 80 Stories High, a compilation of true stories about the humble heroes he has met, and been inspired by, over the years. Dr John recently took time out to speak to On the Coast Over 55 Magazine.

When did the idea for 80 Stories High take hold? What was your inspiration?
When we become “seniors” we face our own D–Day crises. In my case, it was increasing Deafness and Dichotomous thinking – I could focus on this or that but not on both simultaneously. That problem annoys my wife, Jean, even more than me. But other D–Day crises also loom large within our bodies – it either Drips, it Droops, it Drops or it Dribbles. In my case, all this led to the biggest D of them all, Depression. Then to top it off, my closest brother, Warwick, my business partner in the READ clinic for over 35 years developed Dementia. I was devastated and this scenario, coupled with Covid, meant I had to fight back, somehow. For some reason memories of humble heroes I’d met in my professional years as a child psychologist started flooding back – memories of kids, parents, teachers, grandparents who had overcome adversity with incredible love, forgiveness, endurance, humour and faith just filled my mind. By thinking about them and writing about them I was able to shift my focus from dark to light, from death to life, and my spirits lifted.

You have a podcast too. Did the podcast come first? What inspired the podcast and what have you learnt and enjoyed from doing it?
The podcast was done a touch earlier when I was in the midst of my battle. I didn’t advertise it, I had no confidence in them because I knew that my audience was not big on podcasts, they were old fashioned readers! And although I still have them on air, I think I must have had all of about 20 listeners by now (!!), and I retain the capacity in the podcasts for people to write in about their humble heroes too, and some have, and some of these are included among the 80 fabulous stories in the book.

You have spoken to tens and tens of humble heroes. From all the inspiration that you’ve gleaned, could you offer some insights for overcoming adversity or staying positive?
Having taken the book and the stories to many retirement villages, Probus clubs and Rotary clubs, I have come up with a few fundamentals:

  • We oldies retain a distinct advantage over the younger generation; we were brought up in an age where we learned how to talk and help each other, not just communicate through a machine. As our brains inevitably decrease in learning capacity with age (in the book I refer to it as advancing black matter), we build on our remaining strengths and use each other to help us with our weaknesses. What’s beautiful about village life, Probus and Rotary is to see how they collaborate as a team to use individual strengths (gardening, IT, travel gurus, fishing, bowls, mahjong, cars, cards, Bridge, craft and sewing, construction, electrical, electronics, model rail, journalism, event management) just to name a few, to bolster the group collectively and to help each other. What a marvellous lesson is that! We don’t have to become increasingly frustrated with our weaknesses, there are others around with the strengths to help.
  • Anyone and everyone working with seniors should have to pass a Working with Seniors certificate, just as we all have to do if we work with children! Some of the skills needed include:
    i) a genuine respect for the elderly
    ii) compassion for failing eyesight, hearing, memory and communication skills
    iii) capacity to speak clearly (it’s very difficult on the hard–of–hearing to understand someone whose accent makes it impossible to interpret)
    iv) a willingness and tolerance to help find a solution rather than be impatient and dismissive
  • Because we will all have to accept help from others as we age, we should all try to develop and practice an attitude of gratitude so that when outsiders do help they pick up on our gratitude and so they’re more inclined to enjoy helping.

The proceeds from the book go towards dementia research, can you tell us a bit about that? What inspired this? Was that always your vision?
Dementia is the biggest single killer of the elderly. As we age our brain’s neuroplasticity reduces, we can’t learn as quickly, and memory can become a problem. I wrote my stories of beautiful humble heroes I had met in my life, not just to lift my own spirits but I was conscious that memories might fade, and I would have lost the opportunity to say thank you. Then our own family struck tragedy. My own brother, the beautiful human being who had worked side–by–side with me to establish the READ clinic and who was my business partner for 35 years, was diagnosed with dementia. I could do little to help. I was fraught with guilt and grief. Then I thought that if I can give all profits from the book to dementia research, even if it might be too late to help Warwick, it could help his/our children and grandchildren. So far, we have been able to give $1500 to NeuRa, the dementia research facility attached to UNSW, and the good news is that there are more donations looming. The other exciting news for all of us is that my research indicates that huge strides are being made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment right now! Indeed, an article titled “Overcoming Dementia” in a recent New Scientist magazine, predicts that by as early as 2030 there might even be a vaccine available to prevent the onset and maybe even arrest early symptoms. How good would that be?! I can’t believe how much these “green shoots” in research have already changed public thinking. Up till now, very few wanted to be tested as it was like early notice of a death sentence. Now, with hope on the horizon, people are both donating more to the cause and they’re wanting to know more.

Are there any upcoming events and fundraisers that you would like us to know about?
We had such a huge response to our Music and the Mind concert held at Grammar this year, that we’ve already been asked to offer an expanded version, featuring CCGS music groups and individuals, interspersed with speakers about the Mind and Dementia, to be held on 26th August 2025. Stay tuned for more information.

If you would like to gift 80 Stories High to your own humble hero this Christmas, they are available at Bookface Erina, the READ clinic in Karalta Rd, Erina, or online from Amazon. www.drjohnirvine.com

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