Photo by Phil Warren. 

What is it that motivates us to want to look back through carnival-like multi-directional mirrors to explore times past?  

I look at the photo of my mother on the wall, and wonder what was hidden behind those storied eyes, laugh lines, and tenured silver gray locks.  I yearn to hear mom's stories and dad's jokes, one more time, but now, the responsibility has been silently delegated to a new generation to tell the tales of the past. 
 
The Healing Power of Stories: Creating Yourself through the Stories of your Life by Daniel Taylor, Ph.D. became my go-to bible as I delved deeper into the personal history industry.  The jacket description contends, as therapists have known all along, that “stories have the power to make people whole again.  The key to telling life stories is choosing which fairytales, myths and popular stores we embrace, picking which characters become our heroes and reshaping our world according to the ideals of our favorite stories.”  
 
The academic in me however wanted to know why stories carry so much significance in our lives.  Once again, Taylor offers valuable insight. 

• Story is omnipresent in our lives.
• We live in stories the way fish live in water, breathing them in and out, buoyed up by them.
• We are born into stories; they nurture and guide us through life; they help us know how to die.
• Stories make it possible for us to be human.
• Stories shape how we see ourselves, the world, and our place in it.
   
  Patricia Hampt in Could I Tell You Stories gives us another glimpse as to why we hunger for stories.

• Stories entertain us.
• They provide rehearsals for life.
• They furnish us with the reassurance and guidance we need as we mature.
• Stories teach us that there is a place for us, that we fit.
• Stories turn mere chronology, one thing after another, into the purposeful action of plot, and thereby into meaning.
  
  

These underlying currents may be why we yearn to tell and capture the stories tucked away in the pockets and pages of our lives, especially as we age, so that “my own stories can outlive me”. 
 
Let’s add a little music to our mix.  Born in 1950 you would think I was a Rolling Stones fan.  Not me.  I grew up in the world of Broadway musicals.  But today's technology gives us a chance to relive a familiar past or one we never experienced and revisit the Stones hit Ruby Tuesday - third verse, "there’s no time to lose."  Enjoy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YJXfcndyvU
 
Let’s Get Started ... Before It’s Too Late! 
 
Mary
 
Mary Patricia Voell
 
 

We’ve all witnessed the genealogy industry explode.  At any moment, day or night, at the touch of a key, millions search and locate characters in their family lineage.  With the ever increasing speed and data available, the ancestral jungle expands in multiple directions reaching deep the roots of the past and planting new generations.      
 
Watching this growth, many ask me how I got into the “storytelling” personal history business.  My response - - it’s a family affair. 

My mother told the history of the stained glass windows in our parish church.  My eldest sister is our family ‘go-to’ historian.  One brother loved to visit cemeteries, another was the videographer at family gatherings, and yet another recorded the departure of my siblings from our family home by traveling through rooms asking each to imagine living there.  Brother number three asks great questions, number five continues to be the campfire storyteller, and my youngest brother has the ultimate listening job, as a neighborhood bar owner.  It doesn’t end there.  A nephew imagined family websites long before they were free and popular, and a sister-in-law was a family-life editor for their local newspaper.  We all continue to enjoy family reunions filled with updated stories and of course, plenty of young’ns enjoying the tall tales, and adding to our family storybook.   So I come from a long line of family history bugs.       
 
All families aren’t as fortunate to have the memory capturing gene, yet want and need help in organizing and chronicling their family history.  Ever since I decided to delve into the world of personal histories, I realized that I didn’t want to spend time searching for long-gone ancestors, but to focus on writing the stories of those on my horizon, those whose stories were being lost with each passing moment. And most of all help others to secure the stories that are still within their reach. 
 
Along the way I’ve found numerous traveling companions, those who have written helpful and insightful books including:

• The Healing Power of Stories by Daniel Taylor  
• Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach
• I Could Tell You Stories by Patricia Hampl
• Turning Memories Into Memoirs by Denis Ledoux

 
And if you’d like to add a little humor to your search, or just for fun, check out I’m My Own Grandpa sung by Ray Stevens. I love this one because he creatively tracks it on a family tree.  Good luck!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYlJH81dSiw
 
Let’s Get Started ... before it’s too late!  Let us know how we can help. 
 
Mary

Mary Patricia Voell