My dad died suddenly when I was 28 years old. And not a day passes when I don’t wish I’d asked more questions about his life.
I did try. But he thought his life was “boring” and “normal.” Also, he’d been a soldier and didn’t want to traumatise me with the gritty details that were still keeping him awake at night.
Several times I tried to record his life story but he wasn’t keen and I gave up. Today, there are so many things I wish I could ask him about my ancestors. He had a great memory for that kind of stuff. But when he died, all those stories fell with him.
That’s probably why I – a writer for decades – got into helping people record their memories, their life stories. I want people to read their loved ones’ stories and feel like they’re there in the room with them.
But so many people don’t know where to start, they feel overwhelmed. So I thought I’d write 100 life questions and email them to people once a day – just one simple question about their life each day.
I thought it would help people get started and slowly but surely write the bones of their life stories.
You find sign up to receive my 100 questions here:
And if you’re thinking of writing your story, please know it matters. And you never know who will be grateful you took the time to write it, in years to come.
