Here is a link to a great little article by memoir writing coach Marion Roach Smith. I love her concept of "taking a slice" out of a student's timeline and admonishing them to "just go from here to there."
Read moreThe Mental Health Benefits of Writing a Memoir
I can attest from my own experience that life story writing can be a powerfully self-affirming journey. Looking at an overview of your life as a whole gives you a unique perspective. For me, I was able to make connections between seemingly disparate events that I hadn't noticed until I started to write about them. Seeing those connections, some things that had confused me for years suddenly started to make sense.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association established a link between writing about stressful experiences and improved health. The co-author of the study, Joshua M. Smyth, explains, “It actually has little to do with raw catharsis, which, I think, is what people assume.” Rather, the health benefits were a result of cognitive restructuring, or learning to see problems in a new way
Read moreBook Highlight: Mini-memoir for the Grandkids
This week we wanted to show you a pair of darling children's picture books. Sharon and Gordon Spencer wanted to give their grandchildren an idea of what their childhoods were like. They gathered a few childhood photos and took pictures of some favorite dolls and toys that they had treasured for decades. Then they wrote a narrative in very short bits for tiny readers, and we supplemented the narrative with some stock photos and Photoshop composites. These little books were so much fun to create! They gave them to their grandchildren for Christmas: "Grandma's Dolls" and "When Grandpa was a Boy."
Read moreLink: 20 Reasons Why You Should 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.
Read moreBook Highlight: Cadet Nurse & Fighter Pilot
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
Read moreMaking a Family Story Cookbook
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.
What Adult Children Want to Know About Their Parents
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.
Read moreHow 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.
Read moreA Life Story "Triage" Exercise
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.
Read moreBook highlight: His-and-Hers Histories
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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We 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!