Every Story Needs a Good Backstory. Here’s Why.

Posted on February 22, 2012 by fran.morley

This photo of typical teens in the 1950s could illustrate a fairly straightforward story. If you lived in that time, it’s all pretty obvious to you. But would younger readers see it that way? If this were a scene and … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing/Writing, Research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Life Story + “Backstory” = Very Powerful Personal History

Posted on February 15, 2012 by sue.hessel

In her machine gun-sprayed synagogue in Grodno, Poland, Dora Russek was with family members about to be transported to a place they knew would be the end of them. They had seen enough deaths in the Grodno ghetto and heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing/Writing, Interviewing, Life Stories, Life Stories as a Book, Personal Historians, Research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Is History Only in Our Textbooks?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by debbie.brodsky

Is history something that happened only if we read about it in a textbook? And conversely, if something is not in a textbook, does that mean it didn’t happen? What if you read about it in a family-history story or … Continue reading →

Posted in Life Stories as Video, Personal Historians, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Challenging the Brain’s “Intellectual Muscle” with Memoir Writing

Posted on February 2, 2012 by mary.tyrrell

Recently, while reading the New York Times article about new discoveries of how the brain continues to develop even as we age, “A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond,” it sparked images for me. The article includes good news of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Elderly/Aging, Memory Loss, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

How Many Lives Are in One Life Story?

Posted on January 26, 2012 by sarah.merrill

This morning I was reading a review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review of the book, The Lives of Margaret Fuller, by John Matteson. I didn’t at first notice that he used the word “Lives” in the title, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Editing/Writing, Interviewing, Life Stories, Personal Historians, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Helping “Succinct” Narrators Tell a Richer Story

Posted on January 23, 2012 by sarah.white

By Sarah White, APH President What do you do when the person whose story you’re trying to collect isn’t much of a storyteller? A recent discussion on the APH Listserv mailing list (available only to our members) provided some strategies … Continue reading →

Posted in Dealing with Emotions, Editing/Writing, Life Stories, Personal Historians | Tagged , | 4 Comments

‘Red Tails’ Movie Tells Some of the Story. Want More?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by fran.morley

The movie Red Tails, which tells a story of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII, opens this weekend and is sure to generate talk. It’s a good thing when a movie encourages people to talk about history and their family’s place in it—even … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Popular movies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“That sounds just like Mom” Preserving the Narrator’s Voice

Posted on January 18, 2012 by sue.hessel

There is no greater compliment for me than for a family member to say after reading their family story, “That sounds just like my dad.” Or, “I can really hear my mom in the book.” That means I’ve done my … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing/Writing, Life Stories, Life Stories as a Book, Life Stories as Audio, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Not-So-Personal Side of Personal History

Posted on January 11, 2012 by fran.morley

Think Personal History is just about grandma’s stories? Think again. Businesses have stories to tell, and these days those “how we accomplished this” stories are more important than ever, says Jennifer Wang, writing for Entrepreneur magazine. “Corporate-weary consumers care more … Continue reading →

Posted in Business/Corporate Histories, Editing/Writing, Life Stories, Personal Historians | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Who Benefits From a Personal History? You Do!

Posted on January 9, 2012 by fran.morley

A life story is meaningful to the narrator and to friends and family who will enjoy reading it, now and for years to come. But the personal historian who helps save the story gets much out of the arrangement too—and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life Stories, Life Stories as a Book, Personal Historians | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment