20 Reasons to Write Your Family History
Today we wanted to draw your attention to a terrific blog post from the New York Public Library by Carmen Nigro, 20 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Family History. For each reason cited, there is a link to another publication on writing family history that could be helpful.
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Cadet Nurse & Fighter Pilot: Our Parents in World War II
We created this book as a Christmas gift from Tom's mother, Joyce Taylor, to her family this year. It's a great example of a short, focused memoir that can be compiled from a few collected interviews and photographs. It covers their experiences in a short period of time during WWII: Joyce Johnson was contributing to the war effort as a nurse in Salt Lake City, while Wendell Taylor, her future husband, flew missions over the Pacific
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Was spam jello your favorite comfort food? Well, maybe not. But we all have some tasty stories to tell.
The “memoir/cookbook” has been become a popular bestselling genre in recent years. From Pioneer Woman to Smitten Kitchen, food bloggers and celebrity chefs everywhere have cashed in on the blending of food and stories.
Your don’t have to be a famous chef or internet sensation to create a life story cookbook. All you need is a few favorite family stories and a love of food, and a desire to preserve and share your recipes—and stories—with family and friends.
Merline Leaming, A Modern Classic is the story of one of the West's premiere interior designers.
We had a blast interviewing Merline Clark Leaming, the grande dame of modern interior design in the West. Merline started her career in 1950s Salt Lake City with her husband, George, and brother, Howard Clark, by designing modern wrought-iron furniture. Merline's brilliant eye and revolutionary modern design style launched an interior design and real estate empire that brought SLC into the 21st century ahead of its time. She also launched the careers of many of America's most talented interior designers.
In keeping with Merline's taste for clean lines, we kept the book spare and modern. She chose the cover's dreamy lipstick-red linen, reminiscent of her favorite "Fire and Ice." The black lines on the cover depict one of Clark-Leaming's early wrought-iron designs. The 12" x 12" book makes a stunning ornament for a vintage Knoll coffee table.
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What do you wish you knew about your parents? What do your children want to know about you? The following questions, culled from college students, can give tremendous insight into what to include in your own life story writing.
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How to Tell the Ten Best Stories of Your Life
What are your "ten best" stories? In this presentation you'll see a step-by-step method to make the process of writing or recording a personal history easier and more fun.
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A life story "triage" exercise - how to tell the best ten stories of your life.
Here is a short exercise from today's presentation, "Story Triage: How to Tell the Best Ten Stories of Your Life." If you are at the Rootstech conference, you can hear this presentation at 2:30 p.m. in Room 150. If you aren't able to join us, here is a little exercise you might want to try. It may jump-start some memories, and give you some ideas about important stories you need to tell.
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He said, she said: "His-and-hers" personal history books.
This week we wanted to show you a pair of personal histories by a husband and wife, Mack and Judy Lawrence. We've done a number of memoirs for couples over the years; some in separate books like this...
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A while back, Laura Mortensen sat down with a tape recorder and asked her mother, Melba, some questions about her life. The result was this sweet little book, "I Wish You Bluebirds." I wanted to show it to you, because it's a great example of what can be done with a recorded oral interview and a few pictures.
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Autobiography, Memoir, Personal History - What's the difference? And does it matter?
As "personal historians," Tom and I often use these terms interchangeably when blogging or teaching about the concept of writing one's life stories. But does that signify that they all mean the same thing?
Read moreWe are so excited to be back at RootsTech live this year! Come by and see the Pictures and Stories booth (#1609) and see some of the many new books we’ve helped our clients create. Alison is giving two in-person classes: The Seven Deadly Sins of Building a Digital Archive, and Making a Genealogy Story Book. Hope to see you there!
