The Revealing Choices of Favorite Books
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Favorite books show next generations where our imaginations take flight and where we find delight.
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Widows Gone Wild: an excerpt
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“I have found the jigsaw puzzle of my life has changed and the old pieces no longer fit, and I shouldn’t keep trying to fit them back in the old places. I have learned to turn the new pieces over carefully and find the new me I was becoming. Happiness did not find me again: I made it happen.”
Read MoreThe Nana Box: An Archiving Solution
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“Cleaning out” is a perennial, daunting pre-occupation. But, as I see it, the important thing is to begin. Here’s how.
Read MoreHugh Arthur and the Lodged Minie-Ball: an excerpt
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The courthouse was quickly cleared, and Grandfather found himself alone. He made for a wooded tract. He tripped, probably because he had been hit in the back by a minié-ball, which he carried the rest of his life.
Read MoreLetters: Disappearing Windows on Lives
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We discovered that these were not the letters of a young man in love. Rather these were letters from a man who twenty years into a marriage realized what he almost lost.
Read MoreChoosing a Title
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Choosing a title is about grabbing the reader’s interest and giving design direction. The best title is usually not what the client has had in mind.
Read MoreMemoirs of an African Woman on a Mission: an excerpt
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Coaching, a partnership between two individuals, is still a new concept in the African context. It is my desire to coach others to grow in her or his personal, professional and spiritual growth.
Read MoreA Precipitating Moment
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Precipitating moments that cause ripples throughout our lives can be quiet ones.
Read MoreWhy Pay for a Personal History?
/Sometimes adult children feel they know their relative's stories well, and don't want to pay for a personal history. But there are other considerations.
Read MoreFinding Faith in the Field: an excerpt
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Ben Hylden, a college student, persisted in finishing the story that dramatically changed his life. Here is an excerpt.
Read MoreChecking the Signs
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“We carry our ancestors in ways we don’t know or understand,” said James Walsh, a University of Colorado history professor.
Read MoreOh, Lu-te-fisk: The Tradition We Love to Hate
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Grandma Hazel Lagerborg, was a formidable woman: sturdy, hard-working, and nearly six feet tall. I might have been frightened of her were it not for the twinkle in her light blue eyes.
Read MoreA Place for Our Stories at the Table
/With a little coaxing from a question in a place card, we share our stories at the table.
Read MoreThe Story of a Big Name
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After he moved from Samoa to America, Pulutausa Fatu Utuone Aiono Nu’u changed his name to Joe, but at a great loss.
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A Compassionate Approach to Addiction Intervention: an excerpt
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People who cared deeply about Howie persuaded him that what he knew had to be told. And he agreed that if even one person was helped by it, he had to tell his story.
Read MoreRaising My Family Around the World: an excerpt
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From correspondence saved with a beloved grandmother, journals, family snapshots and memories, Linell Joyce set out on the formidable task of preserving the story of her life as a CIA wife and mother
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The Gift of an Interview
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An interview, focused listening, can be a simple, valuable gift.
Read MoreTelling the Truth
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In writing a life story, it’s important to stay true to the story as told by the person who lived it. What really happened can shift over time, not necessarily intentionally. Memory and imagination both whittle down and embellish an event. And is the result less “the truth?” Perhaps it is more.
Read MoreLife’s Most Beautiful Places
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“Do you have a favorite site in the park?” With a far-away look in their eyes each responded, “Yes, but I’m not sure I want to tell you where it is.”
Read MoreCelebrate the Completion of Your Story
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Once your personal history project is complete—whether a book or a CD—how do you distribute it to family members and special friends? One excellent way is to weave it into a celebration.
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