Writing Your Family History

A January 19, 2015 article in the New York Times, "Writing Your Way To Happiness," by Tara Parker-Pope claims that "writing about oneself and personal experiences can improve mood disorders, help reduce symptoms among cancer patients, improve a person’s health after a heart attack, reduce doctor visits and even boost memory."

Perhaps you agree, but you still haven't got around to it. There's more food for thought, and perhaps action, in this blog post from the New York Public Library. It includes several references, some mentioned more than once, many from the 20th century.

A more recent one mentioned which I've suggested as a purchase for the Ottawa Public Library is

The Story of You: A Guide for Writing Your Personal Stories and Family History, John Bond, 2014

"The Story of You: A Guide for Writing Your Personal Stories and Family History is a practical guide for the novice writer about how to chronicle the stories of his or her life. The book encourages the reader to write the classic stories that everyone has, whether just for themselves, or for their family and friends or the future. 

Chapters include: “What is a Family Story?” “Finding the Right Format,” “Conducting an Interview,” “Revising and Editing Your Family Stories,” and “How to Present and Publish Your Stories.” As a bonus, the book includes: “219 Questions to Prime the Pump,” “22 Ways to Stir up Memories,” and a list of Resources that include over 100 books and websites to help the reader get started. 

The Story of You is written in a conversational tone that shows everyone the value and importance in writing the stories of their life, whether funny or heartwarming and everything in between. The book is a quick way to get started on turning memories into written stories that will last a lifetime."

You can find it at Amazon and preview with Look Inside.