Personal History

Why do a personal or family history?

Events unfold during our lives that can only be captured in memory.  Photographs, documents, and recordings provide a great deal of information, but the meaning attached to them is contained with in us. I can help you write your autobiography.

Memories and meanings attached to events can differ from person to person, even within the same family.  Telling a story is the best way to record the memories and meanings of past events and lives lived.  Narrate your personal biography; save your life story in writing.

Significant events

Certain experiences or events are so significant that they shape a lifetime. Sometimes we talk about them extensively, but memories fade with time. Sometimes we are reluctant to talk about them at all.

Getting your memories and impressions down on paper preserves them for you and others, and helps with understanding their place in your life as time goes by.

Special Occasions can be a time to share special stories.

Special anniversaries or significant birthdays can be  wonderful occasions for giving the gift of a personal history. Many older people don’t need or want new “things.”  They might not have the good health to take a trip. They will be honored and affirmed, however, by knowing that you care enough to ask them to tell their story.

Are you planning a wedding for a son or daughter?  Give them a special gift to mark this new passage in their life:  tell the story of their growing-up years as only you know it.

Everyone has stories of their children’s growing-up years, but do the children themselves remember those stories?  We are all shaped by our experiences, our surroundings, and the people in our lives, yet many adults say they have forgotten much that happened in their early years.  As an adult, you have a unique perspective on those years that your children will never have.  Telling a story is the best way to record the memories and meanings of the journey toward adulthood.  Create a book that will be passed down through the generations; your child’s story.

Whatever the reason, whatever the occasion, a personal history is a gift to others that will grow in value over time.