The other day I was asked if I had any ideas about writing the biography of a dead family member. This struck a responsive chord in me. For some time I’ve wanted to write about my mother’s father, my grandfather. He was only thirty-two when he died in 1920. A Winnipeg fire fighter, he succumbed to the great flu pandemic that was sweeping the world. My mother was only two when he died and she had few stories about him…Read more.
Posted in Ancestors, How to, Life stories, Personal historian, Tips, Writing
Tagged Ancestors, biography, dead, deceased, Fire Fighters, flu pandemic, How to, life story, relatives, research, Tips, Winnipeg, Writing
The following article is reprinted with the kind permission of Personal Historian, Sally Goldin. She is a member of the Association of Personal Historians and can be contacted here.
__________________________________________________________
As a lesbian mother and personal historian, I’ve been thinking about the issue of LGBT invisibility in regards to preserving life stories.
Even though LGBT issues have become more visible and acceptable in this society, there are still situations where you can be fired, harassed, or physically attacked for being an LGBT person. I was clearly reminded of this because of the harassment and discrimination a teacher friend of mine experienced in the Houston Independent School District. In this YouTube presentation to the Board of the H. I. S. D. he describes the harassment he encountered. (The picture clears up at 30seconds). This is a person who had previously been named Teacher of the Year twice in 5 years… Read more.
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.
Posted in How to, Interviewing, Life stories, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged Gay community, Harassment, Houston Independent School District, How to, Human Rights Campaign, Interviewing, language, LGBT, Life stories, Personal historian, personal histories, sensitivity, Tips, United States, Violence and Abuse, YouTube
A weakness common to novice interviewers is their inability to take charge of an interview. Interviews frequently look like a runaway train with the interviewer gamely hanging on to the proverbial little red caboose.
Taking charge doesn’t mean forcing or dictating the direction of the interview. It’s more like riding a horse. Anyone familiar with riding knows that it requires confidence and a gentle hold on the reins. The same approach applies to interviewing.
Here are four ways to keep control of your interview: … Read more.
Life continually challenges us with the unexpected. And only a fool would attempt to prepare for the unforeseen. It does help though to go into uncharted territory with our eyes open to potential risks. Interviewing terminally ill people for their life stories is satisfying, worthwhile, and often moving work. Though it does come with precautions… Read more.
Posted in End of life, How to, Interviewing, Life stories, Tips
Tagged End of life, handling crisis, Home, How to, Interviewing, Life stories, People, precautions, risks, Terminal illness, terminally ill, Tips
A good personal history interview is like a symphony – complex, engaging, and harmonious. Over the past three years I’ve written extensively about the art of the interview and assembled these articles here in one convenient list. Enjoy!…Read more.
Posted in How to, Interviewing, Life stories, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged How to, interview, Interviewing skills, Life stories, Personal historian, Question, Tips
Last week I was doing some spring cleaning and came across a collection of letters I had written to my parents some forty-five years ago. At the time, I was a young man teaching in Ghana. After University I’d joined CUSO, a Canadian voluntary organization similar to the Peace Corps, and had been assigned to the West African country for two years. I’d asked my mother to keep these letters as a partial record of my experience…Read more.
Posted in Inspiration, Life stories, memoir, Personal historian, Writing
Tagged aerogram, Canada, CUSO, Ghana, How to, Inspiration, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, letters, life story, memories, memory triggers, third chapter, Tips, West Africa, Writing
The recent issue of the Journal of Marketing Research examined the correlation between relaxation and consumer spending. It turns out that all things being equal consumers are more willing to pay higher prices if they feel relaxed…Read more.
Posted in How to, Life stories, Marketing, Tips
Tagged Business, client relaxtion, clients, How to, Life stories, Marketing, marketing research, relaxation, Tips
Most people when they consider a life story project think of a book. There are a lot of good reasons for producing a book. But I’ll be honest. I have a video bias because producing video personal histories is my specialty. I also produce books but video is my passion. To see a sample of my work click here. So why should you consider a video for your or someone else’s personal history? Here are five good reasons…Read more.
Posted in Life stories, Personal historian, Video production
Tagged advantages, AudioVisual, DVD, family stories, personal history, video, video life stories
How many personal historians have found themselves in this situation? You have an enthusiastic client, an adult child who really wants her mom or dad’s life story told, but the parent is reluctant…Read more.
Posted in How to, Interviewing, Life stories, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged Family, family story teller, fears, How to, interview, Interviewing, Life stories, Personal historian, reluctant, solutions, Tips
Not long ago I was asked to audio record some final words from a young mother who was dying from cancer. I’ll call her Sonia to protect the family’s privacy. She was in her early thirties and she wanted to leave something for her only child, a five-year-old boy…Read more.
Posted in End of life, Inspiration, Interviewing, Life stories
Tagged audio legacy, child, End of life, interview, legacy, Life stories, mother's dying words, wisdom
email me here
