Book Highlight: A Career History

May 22, 2015 Alison Taylor

"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.

How to Interview Yourself for a Personal History

May 22, 2015 Tom Taylor

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:

Book highlight: Family Stories of Faith

May 15, 2015 Alison Taylor

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.

The Busy Person's Guide to Writing a Memoir

May 14, 2015 Alison Taylor

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.

A Dozen Unusual Questions to Ask Your Mom

May 1, 2015 Alison Taylor

**Do you wish you knew more about the woman who gave birth to you? Here are a dozen interview questions that may enlighten you. (Pictured: my pretty mom.)**

So often our questions to our mothers revolve around ourselves. "So, enough about me; what do you think about me?" It's natural to be curious about our own childhood and upbringing from her perspective. But how much do you really know about who she was as a person before you knew her? What are her deepest thoughts and feelings?

Just in time for Mother's Day, here are some interesting questions that may help you get to the heart of the most important woman in your life.

Memoirs of Place

April 24, 2015 Alison Taylor

**In this memoir, the place, not the person, is the focus.**

Suppose it's not a person's life stories you want to highlight, but stories surrounding a place? Many of us have places that hold special meaning for us--a family farm, a summer home, a city neighborhood or rural mountain ranch. Here are three examples of memoirs in which the place--not the person--is the star.

From Here to There: How to Get to Your Best Memoir Writing (Link)

April 17, 2015 Alison Taylor

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."

How to Write the Perfect Photo Caption

April 16, 2015 Alison Taylor

**"The whole gang." As a caption, it's not very helpful, especially out of context.**

Don't you hate it when this happens? You find a great old photo from your grandmother's collection; itchy with anticipation, you flip it over, hoping to find some enlightening runes there. Alas, you see only the cryptic phrase, "Me and Papa in front of the house."

Whaaa? Who is "Me?" Who is "Papa?" What house? Where? When? Sigh. It's almost more frustrating than finding nothing on the back, because there was just that microsecond there when you saw writing and...sigh.

Book Highlight: Cowboy Stories

April 10, 2015 Alison Taylor

Jimmie Hughes is a game rancher from Nevada. He was the first mayor of the town of Mesquite and if he ever decides to change careers, he could be a stand-up comedian. His book is full of hilarious (and sometimes touching) stories about his life as a missionary, businessman, and rancher. (My favorite is the tale of the Japanese buffalo hunter. If you ever get to Mesquite, ask him to tell you the story.)

Five Tips for Handling Digital Photos

April 10, 2015 Alison Taylor

This Saturday Tom and I will be presenting at the UGA South Davis Family History Fair in Woods Cross, Utah. (See details here.) One of the classes is entitled "Pixel Wrangling: How to Tame Your Digital Photos Once and For All." If you aren't able to join us, I thought I'd post some helpful past articles on the subject. Because everyone needs a little help when taming this beast.

Feb 28, 2024

Speaking at RootsTech 2024

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!

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