We are currently working on a couple of genealogy books at the moment. The challenge with these books is always to find what's compelling in the sometimes dry "names and dates" nature of the research data and build on it, adding historical background information and photos to make the story come alive. If you are considering creating a book from genealogical information, you might find these posts helpful.
Read moreMy Dad's Heroic Struggle to Write a Memoir with Broca's Aphasia
My family in 1964. My dad, at 79, is in a race against time to write his life stories before the words disappear.
“Heroic is a bit strong,” he says, “but I am enjoying it.”
My father has, in recent months, embarked on a writing project. Inspired in equal parts by a) the realization that he won’t live forever, b) encouragement from his wife (my saintly stepmom), and c) the work Tom and I do as life writing coaches -- he has decided to write down some of his life stories.
Read moreThe "Low-Hanging Fruit" Method of Autobiographical Writing
There's an easier method to writing a personal history than starting with "I was born..."
Have you repeatedly started a life story project, but you can't ever seem to get past the first few pages? Getting hung up near the beginning is extremely common. (Clients often bring us snippets of a life history that a parent began to write, but never completed, and now the parent has passed away and their children want to complete the history.)
There's an easier method to writing a personal history than starting with "I was born..."
Read moreA Dozen Unusual Questions to Ask Your Dad
Last month we posted some questions to help you know your mother better. Now it's Dad's turn. This Father's Day, after kicking around a football or watching the game, get out a tape recorder and ask your dad a few questions:
Read more5 Ways to Stay Sane While Writing Your Life Stories
5 Ways to Stay Sane While Writing Your Life Stories: first of all, make sure you are getting enough shut-eye.
If you are in the middle of a life story project, or even procrastinating about starting one, you know that it can be emotionally taxing. Here are a few articles that will hopefully inspire you and give you the strength to keep going (or get started in the first place.)
Read moreAn Easy and Fun Way to Find Your Famous Relatives
My closest famous relative is WHO?!!!
Just for fun (and a little late for Memorial Day), I thought I'd show you this fun genealogy site. BE WARNED--it can be addictive! It may also completely surprise you! I've been amateur-sleuthing my family tree for 30 years now and I was shocked, excited, and even horrified to find out who some of my closest famous relatives are.
RelativeFinder is a new program that was developed by Brigham Young University. It extracts genealogical information from FamilySearch collaborative family trees, compares them to a list of illustrious world figures, and shows you how you are related to them.
Read moreBook Highlight: A Career History
"An Extraordinary Life" tells the story of Robert L. Marquardt's remarkable career and life.
A personal history can also be interesting to a wider audience than one's family and friends. Here is a book we were privileged to create for Robert L. Marquardt, a renowned businessman who became passionate about the Job Corps program. Besides providing employment for many thousands of people around the world, he had a vision centered on helping other people succeed in life. He worked with thousands of youth who had grown up in challenging circumstances and changed many lives in the process.
Read moreHow to Interview Yourself for a Personal History
No, you're not crazy. Interviewing yourself is a very effective way of gathering material for a life history.
Most people, when considering a personal history interview, think of being interviewed by a friend, relative, or professional historian. The idea of interviewing yourself may sound a little crazy at first. But there are several valid reasons that you might want to consider it:
Read moreBook highlight: Family Stories of Faith
A collection of faith-promoting stories in one family's experience, with a beautiful watercolor painted by a family member as the cover illustration.
This week we thought we'd show you a book that just came back from the printer, and that we thought was a great idea. This family collected a faith-promoting story from each extended family member and put it together in an inspiring book. It's a great example of a spiritual memoir or "ethical will" that focuses on the values that are important to you.
Read moreThe Busy Person's Guide to Writing a Memoir
Too busy to write? Think again.
We hear it every day. "I want to record something of my life, but I'm just so darned busy." It's the number one refrain we hear (aside from "my life's just not that interesting," which is a subject for another post). Many of us get hung up on the fact that when we write something, it has to be BIG -- a comprehensive single volume that will take years to complete, so we might as well wait until retirement. (Except that we mostly hear the "I'm too busy" refrain from folks who are retired already!) So here are a few "cheater" ways to record some life stories.
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