Latest Articles
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…
Using Maps and Places to Unlock Family Memories
Maps and places are among the most powerful anchors for memory. Asking someone to describe a childhood home, a neighbourhood, or a town they left behind often unlocks…
Using a Family Reunion to Gather Life Stories
A family reunion is a gathering, but it is also, if you approach it deliberately, an extraordinary research opportunity. Cousins who grew up in different branches of the…
Memoir Structure: How to Shape a Life Story That Reads Well
A memoir is not just a record of events. It is a shaped account — one that has a perspective, a voice, and a reason for existing. Many…
How to Build a Family Archive From Scratch
A family archive is more than a collection of old photos in a box. Done well, it is a structured set of materials — documents, recordings, images, and…
Making the Most of Short Conversations for Life Story Research
Most people, when they think about recording a life story, imagine sitting down for a long formal interview. But some of the richest material comes from much shorter,…