“A life well led”: What does this mean for a person with severe intellectual disability?

Abstract

<p>A quick review of Google Scholar for content examining the concept of 'a life well led' surprisingly turns up very little relevant material. <i>A Life Well Led: The Biography of Barbara Freire-Marreco Aitken</i> (Blair, 2008) is the first option that appears, and thereafter follow articles mostly pertaining to the lives and events of key figures within various religions. However, there are very few papers that delve into an exact definition, or even a discussion, around what constitutes 'a life well led'. The phrase itself is in common usage, and a search of standard Google turns up a lot more possibilities. Again though, there is a lack of clarity around precisely what the phrase means. In spite of this uncertainty, this does not prevent these four words being used repeatedly within 'in memoriam' type pieces. In this article, we are also going to use that phrase to describe a person's life. And, in doing so, we specifically want to highlight an example of what 'a life well led' can mean in the context of an individual with a severe intellectual disability.</p>