Life Story Links: August 6, 2024

“I believe everyone has stories in them. Little snippets of truth and hope. Lessons and ideas. Happiness and gratitude tied up in the day-to-day mundane magic of life.”
—Laura Stroud

Vintage postcard of a scene at le Château de Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, sent by a U.S. Army medic stationed in France during World War I to his family in Arkansas; courtesy of the soldier’s family.

When past and present collide

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ANCESTOR?
“I keep the family tree, and I’m flummoxed about whom to include.” The New York Times magazine’s Ethicist columnist weighs in on genealogy, record-keeping, and notions of relation.

INHERITING ‘UNWANTED FAMILY SECRETS’
“In your family,” Lori Gottlieb writes in response to a “Dear Therapist” letter, “the clumsily handled revelation of these secrets has left you feeling burdened (‘Why me?’), confused about what having this family history ‘means’ for you, and uncertain about what to do with this knowledge going forward.” Read how she breaks it all down.

AMERICAN LIVES IN FIRST PERSON
“The Schlesinger Library is home to more than 3,000 volumes of personal diaries. One former curator is on a mission to read—and describe—as many as she can.”

ON LOVE AND DEATH IN NONFICTION WRITING
“In writing—an essay or a eulogy—the lost are alive to us for as long as we wrestle with what to put in.... In handling these incongruous details—which never themselves add up to a life—the departed are, for a moment, as mysterious to us as they once were.”

Personal historians weigh in on working with clients

“WHAT WAS IT LIKE?”
I believe one of the best ways to see if a personal historian is a good fit is to talk to them, get a sense of their vibe, experience, and aesthetic. Second best? Read reviews from others who have worked with them (or in this case, me).

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
“I’ve been trying to figure out for several decades why some people simply cannot seem to finish writing their memoirs.” Ali de Groot of Modern Memoirs Publishing offers guidance on how anyone can get over hurdles and bring their life story to completion.

From memoir to autobiographical poetry

STORIES THROUGH POETRY
“Elina Katrin’s debut poetry chapbook If My House Has a Voice renders the (un)belonging of immigration, the fluidity of the cross-cultural self, and the sensory core of memories in a vulnerable, mesh-like voice woven from three languages.”

STORIES THROUGH VISUAL ART
“There are no pictures. Everything burned up. There was no floor plan, no drawings or photos of the inside of it.... The only thing that remained was Ann’s memory of it.” An artist helped this Holocaust survivor turn her memories into a painting:

STORIES THROUGH (THEIR OWN) WORDS
Newly released memoirs worth consideration include All That Glitters from art world insider Orlando Whitfield;
Too Good to Fact-Check by former celeb–magazine editor Jeremy Murphy; and The Art of Power by the first woman U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

STORIES THROUGH (A BIOGRAPHER’S) WORDS
Newly released biographies getting some attention (for better or worse) include Christopher Isherwood Inside Out by Katherine Bucknell and Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen by Robert Jobson.