Save a Life…In a Story
By Marcia Passos Duffy
www.NewEnglandLifeStories.com
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.
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 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
About the author:
Marcia Passos Duffy is a freelance writer and co-owner of
LifeStories, a personal history business she operates with
business partner, Jenny Wojenski. 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