Latest Articles
Using Documentary Research to Enrich a Life Story
A life story told only through the storyteller’s own words is one dimension of the truth. Supplementing personal memories with materials from archives — newspapers, local records, photographs,…
Recording Military Service Stories: A Guide for Families
Military service has shaped millions of lives, but the stories of that service often go unrecorded. Many veterans are reluctant to speak about their experiences — from modesty,…
Preserving Traditional and Practical Knowledge in a Life Story
For most of human history, knowledge about medicine, agriculture, building, cooking, and dozens of other crafts was passed down through direct instruction — parent to child, master to…
How to Host a Family Memory Gathering
A family history project can feel overwhelming when you are working alone. One practical solution that many families have found successful is to share the work — gathering…
Involving Children in Family History Projects
Children are natural storytellers, but their family history knowledge is usually secondhand and fragmentary. Creating opportunities for children to engage actively with family stories — rather than just…
Using Anniversaries to Unlock and Preserve Memory
Anniversaries have a particular power to unlock memory. Whether it is a wedding anniversary, the anniversary of a loss, or the anniversary of a life-changing event, these dates…
Capturing the Emotional Layer of a Life Story
When you sit down to record a life story, you carry with you not just facts and dates but the emotional texture of a life. Knowing how to…
Why Sibling Perspectives Are Essential in Family History
Most people think about recording their own story, or the story of a parent or grandparent. But families are shaped by siblings as much as by any other…
Recording a Family’s Experience of War
War shapes families in ways that take generations to fully understand. Whether a family member served in a conflict, was displaced by one, survived civilian life under occupation,…
How to Create a Life Story Binder for a Family Member
A life story binder is one of the most practical formats for preserving and sharing a family member’s history. Unlike a book, which requires final decisions about what…
Interviewing Beyond the Family: Outside Witnesses in Life Story Work
A life story project often begins with family — parents, grandparents, siblings. But some of the richest life history material sits in the wider community: neighbours who knew…