General Resources

Titles marked with the diamond indicate books written or published by our members. More information on these books can be found on our Featured Items page. Many of the other titles can be purchased through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble's online bookstore.

(click on book titles to purchase from amazon.com)

How-To and Instructional Materials

• Aftel, Mandy. Becoming the Author of Your Experience, The Story of Your Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.)

• Alessi, Jean and Jan Miller. Once Upon a Memory, Your Family Tales and Treasure (Whitehall,Virginia: Betterway Publications, Inc., 1987.)

• Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir (Portland, Oregon: The Eighth Mountain Press.)

• Borg, Mary and Joyce Turley. Writing Your Life: An Easy to Follow Guide to Writing an Autobiography (Fort Collins, Colorado: Cottonwood Press, 1989.)

• Daniel, Lois. How to Write Your Own Life Story (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1980.)

• Fletcher, T. William. Recording Your Family History (Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press, 1989.)

• Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss. Children Tell Stories: A Teaching Guide (Katonah, New York: Richard Owen Publishers, 1990.)

• Joyce, Robert D. Kitty: An Annotated Autobiography

• Kempthorne, Charley. For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History

• Kunz, John. The Joys and Surprises of Telling Your Life Story (Bi-Folkal Productions, Inc., 2002.)

• Ledoux, Denis. Turning Memories Into Memoirs, A Handbook for Writing Lifestories (Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press, 1993.)

• Mitchell, Mary P. Life is Like a Patchwork Quilt: The Art of Recording Life Stories

• Pogrebin, Letty Cottin. Getting Over Getting Older: An Intimate Journey (New York: Little, Brown and Co., 1996.)

• Polking, Kirk. Writing Family Histories and Memoirs (Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 1995.)

• Rosenbluth, Vera. Keeping Family Stories Alive: Discovering and Recording the Stories and Reflections of a Lifetime (Point Roberts, Washington: Hartley & Marks, 2nd ed. 1997.)

• Rosenbluth, Vera. Classic Scrapbooking: The Art and Craft of Creating a Book of Memories (Point Roberts, Washington: Hartley & Marks, 1998.)

• Rowland, Phyllis. How to Write Time of Your Life Stories in Ten Easy Steps (Jacksonville, Florida: Smith & Daniel Marketing and Public Relations.)

• St. Louis, Melinda. Put It In Writing Guide For Populore Narratives

• Ueland, Brenda. If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit (St. Paul: Greywolf Press, 1987.)

• Ukeret, Dr. Robert. Family tales, Family Wisdom, How to Gather the Stories of a Lifetime and Share Them with Your Family (New York: William Morrow, 1991 (paperback, Holt, 1992.)

• Verson, Karol. Time Dance: Looking Backward/Moving Forward, The "Art" of Reminiscence

• Winston, Linda. Keepsakes: Using Family Stories In the Elementary Classrooms (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997.)

• Wolff, Tobias. "Mastering the Memoir," Writer's Digest (July 1997 interview.)

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Methods and Theory of Personal History

• Collins, Rives and Pamela Cooper. The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling (Scottsdale, Arizona: Gorsuch Scarisbrick Publishers, 1997.)

• Kaminsky, M., ed. The Uses of Reminiscence: New Ways of Working with Older Adults (New York: Haworth Press, 1984.)

• Koch, Kenneth. I Never Told Anybody, Teaching Poetry Writing in a Nursing Home (New York: Random House, 1977.)

• Kotre, John. White Gloves: How We Create Ourselves Through Memory (New York: White Gloves, 1995.)

• Lomask, Milton. The Biographer's Craft (New York: Harper and Row, 1986.)

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Memoirs, Autobiographies, and other Personal History Works

• Allende, Isabel. Paula (HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1996.)

• Cahill, Susan, ed. Writing Women's Lives: An Anthology of Autobiographical Narratives by Twentieth-Century Women Writers (Borgo Press, 1994.)

• Conway, Jill Ker, ed. Written by Herself: Autobiographies of American Women: An Anthology (Vintage Books, 1992.)

• Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory (Random House, Inc., 1995.)

• Gornick, Vivian. Approaching Eye Level (Beacon Press, 1996.)

• McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (Riverhead Books, 1996.)

• Rowland, Phyllis, ed. 1996 Treasury: Time of our Lives (Kearney, Nebraska: Morris Publishing, 1996.)

• Sielen, Rae Jean and Amy Stevenson, eds. How to Write Time of Your Life Stories in Ten Easy StepsMountain State Stories of the People

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Other Materials Helpful to the Personal Historian

• Cahill, Pat. "Keeping Memories—and Love—Alive" (The Republican [Springfield, Massachusetts], Lifestyle section, August 20, 2006)

• Coleman, P.G. Aging and Reminiscence Processes: Social and Clinical Implications (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1986.)

• Davis, Richie. "Saving Lives: One Book at a Time" (Greenfield Recorder, photos by Peter MacDonald, September 10, 2005)

• Erikson, Erik. Vital Involvement in Old Age (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1986.)

• Gigante, Shelly. "Traditions: This is Your Life" (Citipursuits, p. 7, January 2006)

• Gross, Andrea. "A New Year's Resolution: Giving the Past a Future" (Tampa Bay Metro, p. 37, December/January 2006)

• Joyce, Robert D. Memory Bank Notebook

• Kaufman, Sharon B. The Ageless Self: Sources of Meaning in Late Life (Madison, Wisconsin: U. of Wisconsin Press, 1986.)

• Keown, Ian. "Your Past as Prologue; Writing a memoir not only preserves a family's history, but it can also serve as a guidebook for future generations" (Robb Report WORTH, pp. 75-78, February 2005)

• Ledoux, Denis. Writing Great Cameo MemoryLists in Five Easy Steps (Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press.)

• Ledoux, Denis. Writing Great Cameo Narratives in Five Easy Steps (Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press.)

• Merritt, Megan. "Memoirs of a Memoir" (The Big Green, Volume 4, Issue 4, February 1, 2006)

Magazines

• Reader's Digest

• Time of Our Lives

• Videomaker Magazine

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For Out-of-Print Books

University Microfilms International
300 N Zeeb Rd
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
The primary focus is academic and professional resource materials originally published by university presses, academic societies, and trade book publishers worldwide. Authorized facsimili from the master copy of the original book.

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