I love this thought – which I grabbed from Patricia Charpentier who has a membership for people writing their personal and family stories. She is an experienced ghostwriter of memoirs and author of Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time.
I have to agree with her – tackling one’s full Life Story is a daunting task for anyone when viewed in its entirety. But just one story at a time? That is doable.
Now about that thing of making your descendants have to research you – if you don’t leave them something personal, guess what they will have? Birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate – but what will show them you LIVED? Really lived — loved, cried, laughed, enjoyed wonderful times, had really tough times. You know – were a real person with hopes, dreams and lessons!
Yes, I have heard it a dozen times as I worked with people on their Life Story photobooks – what will I say? No one would be interested in my story? What would I include in it? Nothing important happened to me so what would I write?
OK – step back. Waaay back in time. To your great grandmother who birthed 10 kids and only 7 lived to adulthood – and most were born in a one-room half-dugout, half-soddy home in Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). Right! How many questions are running around in your mind at that picture?
I can tell you – tons! And I did get a chance in my grandfather’s later years to record (on a cassette tape) some of his answers to my questions. I was a young mom and just interested by some of his stories (not recorded, darn). But oh, how I wish I had asked a million more questions – especially as I later began to do genealogy work.
He probably thought it was just a regular piece of information, but I loved how he explained they had a hole in the floor for the butter churn – that kept the butter cool. Wow! More, please.
Trust me, your stories, even bits and pieces will be invaluable to your future generations. I love how Leslie Leyland Fields says it in Your Story Matters: Finding, Writing, and Living the Truth of Your Life:
“Don’t try to write a book. Just write some stories.” When she tells her workshop attendees that, they look puzzled at first, then relieved! Then she says “…right now, it’s just about remembering. That’s all you need right now. I want to send you out of the stuffy library and into the whispering fields of memory.”
And yes, even scripture supports this. Israelites about to enter the land God promised them – after wandering and longing for forty years – take a look at the words received just before they cross over. Deuteronomy 4:9 (GW): “However, be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you don’t forget the things which you have seen with your own eyes. Don’t let them fade from your memory as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.”
They were to remember their slavery in Egypt and God’s redemption of them plus how He led them all those years. They were to remember who they were.
Which stories should you remember and pursue? Only you can answer that.
But I can tell you this, I followed Fields’ direction as I hope you will also – and in the telling of a simple mundane story of how I got to school each day, I found myself telling more of what stood out in my memory. It was about my becoming the one to gather up my siblings, feed them and get us out the door to the bus – a monumental insight of my early formation came through to me. One memory triggers another – and tells volumes about your over-arching life story.
Ok, let me lay another one on you – March 14 (just around the corner) is National Write Your Story Day. It is fairly new – and I found a couple of different “stories” about how it started. But the earliest info says it was first established by the National Writing Project in 2009 with the goal of promoting self-expression through writing. Pretty unglamorous, huh?
Let me juice it up a bit – think back to your ancestors, especially any special ones that immediately come to mind. What if you were standing right next to them. What would you like to ask them? What do you wish you knew about them? What would be important to you?
OK – write about that – the questions you have of them are going to be very similar to what your future generations want to know about you and your life.
Here’s the action step – I followed it just as Fields outlined it. Set your timer for 10 minutes and start writing everything that comes to mind on “how you got to school each day” or any other topic that intrigues you. Just do it – now!
You will be amazed and, I pray, inspired! And the story needs to go into a digital FOREVER storage to be enjoyed by future descendants. How to do that? Stay tuned. For now, just pat yourself on the back for doing one story. (and send me a quick ‘reply’ to let me know you did it – I want to celebrate with you!)
P.S. Watch for an email from me this week to learn more about saving that story you wrote – plus what to do with the photos/stories/memorabilia from your family.
