My partner in ancestry questing, Dr. Kathryn Gray-White; another friend, Susan Morris; and I journeyed to Scotland in early June in search of our heritage. I've come to think of them as "my dead people," all of those who came before me who live on in me right down to the marrow of my bones. According to ancestry.com I have plenty of Scottish heritage. This was my fifth trip to Scotland, but I'd … [Read more...]
Surviving Death
Lest you think I'm able to tell you how to survive your own death, I appreciate your confidence in my abilities. But let me clear that up right away. I'm talking here about surviving the death of a loved one, and about supporting others as they survive the same. It's taken me almost a couple of years to be able to write about this after the latest deaths of two people I treasure. Which is … [Read more...]
2-Minute Memoir Quiz
Are you tinkering with the idea of writing your memoir? This quick quiz will help you decide if it’s time to start writing now: Do you wake up in the middle of the night with a stray memory? Do you consider getting up to write it down but don’t because you promise yourself you’ll remember it? Then in the morning do you remember that you remembered something important but have no earthly idea … [Read more...]
Memoirs offer Punchlines, Bellyaches, Life Lessons, and Resolutions: The Introduction Paragraph
"A Quaker preacher grandfather on one side of my family and a Wiccan Baptist grandmother -- yes, you read that right -- on the other side. No wonder my life has been different." Want to continue reading this story? Gotcha! You have just felt the power of a well-constructed purpose statement, the "hook" that draws the reader into your story. (This one from What We Talk about When We're … [Read more...]