Latest Articles
A year-end review that isn’t about goals
On the evening of December 31st you shut down the computer, glance at the calendar, and see the twelve months that have just passed. The day feels like…
How Sensory Details Bring a Life Story to Life
There is something quietly powerful about writing down the small things — the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the sound of rain on a tin roof during childhood…
Writing an obituary
A photo of the family’s kitchen table, a stack of index cards with names and dates, and a notebook where the surviving sibling has already penciled a few…
Writing up a life story
You have a stack of cassette tapes, a folder of handwritten notes, and a dozen digital recordings that capture family members recalling birthdays, wars, and everyday chores. The…
How to Use Letters and Correspondence to Reconstruct a Life Story
Before email, before text messages, before voicemail — people wrote letters. And those letters, if they have survived, are among the most remarkable primary sources available for reconstructing…
What to Include in a Personal Legacy Letter
A personal legacy letter — sometimes called an ethical will — is a document in which you share your values, beliefs, life lessons, and wishes for the people…
Talking to someone near the end of their life
You sit at the kitchen table while the kettle whistles, the faint scent of rosemary drifting from the stove. The person across from you has been quiet for…
Reflective journaling prompts
You pull a thin notebook from the drawer where you keep spare stationery, the pages still crisp. The pen rests lightly between your fingers, and the act of…
Recording audio and video that will still be usable in thirty years
You have cleared a quiet corner of the living room, placed a small tripod on the coffee table, and set a phone on it to capture a conversation…
Questions to ask a parent about their life
You sit across the kitchen table, a recorder or notebook in front of you, and the conversation turns to the years before you were born. The details of…