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Save a Life…In a Story
Capture the stories now from your aging relatives
By Marcia Passos Duffy
 April
12, 2005 - So many people keep meaning to interview their
parents or grandparents -- and capture all those entertaining and
enlightening family stories. But most people never get around to it,
and put it off until it is too late and the storyteller has died or is
too sick to tell stories anymore.
This was the case with me. My grandmother died 2
years ago at the age of 94. She was born in Portugal and immigrated
twice – to Brazil then to the United States where she lived with my
parents for 30 years -- and many stories to tell of her adventures. I
was very close with my grandmother, who came to live with us when I was
12. She was a skilled, animated storyteller – as are many people of her
generation.
Her stories were so vivid I believed that I would
always remember them. To this day, I don’t understand why I did not
take a tape recorder and just let her talk into it while she spun her
yarns. I’m a professional writer, and yet, I never thought to do that.
And when she died I realized that while I remember some of her stories
to tell to my own children, as time goes on I am forgetting the
delightful details, twists and turns she gave her stories.
Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence --
everyday a family elder dies, and along with them, their stories. In the
weeks that followed after my grandmother’s death I realized something
important: If, I, as a writer, had never thought to take down my
grandmother’s personal history, how many more families are losing their
precious stories – so valuable in keeping families – particularly our
children -- rooted and grounded? That is why I became a personal
historian. I know that by recording these family stories, we allow
future generations to discover their ancestors’ personalities,
experiences and wisdom. It is a record that ensures a life -- and
experiences -- will never be forgotten
More Families are Recording Their Stories
A personal historian is a relatively new profession
and the Association of Personal Historians (APH)
www.personalhistorians.org has only
existed since 1994. APH members – like myself and my LifeStories
business partner, Jenny Wojenski – are scattered throughout 42 states
and four foreign countries to help people, businesses, families,
communities and organizations preserve memories and life stories. We do
this by audio-taping, videotaping and spreading the word about how
important it is to preserve ones own or an elders’ history.
While writing down life stories is not a new
concept, the tragedies of September 11 have led many Americans to
re-evaluate what is important in their lives, and there has been a surge
in interest in recording life stories – the lessons learned, moral
values and experiences for future generations in a family. There have
been many articles recently written about personal historians and what
they do – in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia
Inquirer, Good Housekeeping, Money magazine.
But, what exactly is a life story? How is it done?
A life story is more than genealogy, more than the
names, dates and places listed on a family tree. A life story -- or
personal history -- tells the fascinating stories behind those facts and
brings a family tree to life.
It can include:
> A spectrum of an individual's life, or a memoir focusing on a particular
event or period of time.
> A family history bringing ancestors to life through the stories behind
the statistics on a family tree.
>
A history of a community, organization or group as told through the
stories of the people involved.
A personal historian is usually also a journalist
or skilled interviewer who knows how to ask open-ended questions and
listen carefully. While many elders can be a bit self-conscious – and
maybe even wary at first – about telling their life story (many elders
were brought up in an era when it was considered vain to talk about
themselves), personal historians are very good at making people feel at
ease. Most people warm up very quickly to a listener who cares about
recording these stories.
The process involves getting “facts” of a person’s
birth and family history – sometimes from other family members. The fun
part begins when the personal historian sits down and interviews the
person – usually in his or her home – with a digital recorder. This is
done over a period of 2 or 3 days, in two-hour sessions. The interviews
are then transcribed, edited for clarity, placed in “chapters” according
to themes in a person’s life, such as “Childhood,” “The War Years,” and
“Married Life.” The book – which usually takes about 30-40 additional
hours to transcribe, edit, revise and prepare -- can range between 100
to 200 pages. There are many creative ways the books can be presented,
and a personal historian usually has many options including as simple as
an attractive cloth-covered three-ring binder to a fully-bound leather
book with color photographs.
Often a personal history is ordered as a gift – for
a holiday or special birthday or anniversary. Frequently, family
members pitch in to share the cost – which often begins at around $1,200
- $1,500. Additional books are usually ordered for an extra cost. In
many cases several copies of the book are ordered and some donated as
well to local or university libraries, which value them as unique
community historical resources.
People are certainly becoming more aware of the
value of recording a family’s personal history. After all, what greater
legacy can a person leave their family than the stories of their lives?
We have found that even the most “ordinary” life has “extraordinary”
stories. We believe every one of us has an important story to tell. As
one 92 year old woman we once interviewed said after we handed her the
completed 120 page book on her life: “I always knew I had a book in
me…now when is the movie coming out?”
About the author:
Marcia Passos Duffy is a freelance writer and
co-owner of LifeStories, a personal history business in Keene, NH which
she operates with business partner, Jenny Wojenski, also of Keene. Both
women have over 20 years of combined experience in journalism &
interviewing with a deep respect for preserving family history. They
are members of the Association of Personal Historians (www.personalhistorians.org),
an international network of skilled professionals passionate about
preserving life stories. For more information, visit the LifeStories
website at
www.NewEnglandLifeStories.com
or call them at 603-357-8761, or 603-358-3350, email:
info@newenglandlifestories.com
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