4 steps to begin preserving your food memories

Knowing your family’s recipes are preserved for the next generation is reassuring. Adding stories and photos, too, brings your food heritage to life. Start here.

food memories, book ideas & inspirationDawn M. RoodeSeptember 7, 2020food memories, the power of food to recall memories, planning tipsComment

Hey, memories! Come out of the closet, will you?

Your memories live in your head and heart, but family photos, heirlooms & mementos sure do call those memories forth—how to use them towards a life story book.

family history, photo legacy, memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeJune 22, 2020how to use family photos in life story books, memory prompts, your family archive as a resource for life stories, finding family stories in our stuff, photo stories talk resources, planning tips, course resourcesComment

How to plan a life story book in 3 simple steps

These three simple steps will put you on the road to remembering, and make your life story book project proceed as efficiently and smoothly as possible.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeJune 8, 2020organize your family archive, write a life timeline, life themes for memoir writing, planning tips, course resources Comments

8 tips for creating your own tribute book in honor of a lost loved one

Writing a tribute book is a meaningful way to create a lasting legacy for a lost loved one. These expert tips from a personal historian will help.

book ideas & inspiration, remember lost loved onesDawn M. RoodeMay 11, 2020tribute book in honor of a lost loved one, how to remember a deceased family member, legacy and memory books, planning tipsComment

What to save for your adoption journey book

If you would like to document your family stories in an adoption journey book, here is a road map for what to save, how to record memories, and when to begin.

book ideas & inspirationDawn M. RoodeMarch 18, 2020how to preserve adoption story in book, adoption journey, family history and adoption, planning tipsComment

How to use short vignettes to create a mosaic of your life

How the best life story vignettes are powerful ways to capture your past, and why writing short pieces from your memories is a smart way to begin your memoir.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeApril 23, 2019how to write vignette for memoir, mosaic life stories, quilt style narrative, memoir writing, writing tips, planning tips, course resources, writing vignettesComment

6 tips for choosing the best family photos to use as writing prompts

Family photos can be useful tools to jog memories and call forth stories. We share how to determine which images will elicit the best family stories.

family history, memoir & writing, photo legacyDawn M. RoodeApril 10, 2019life story writing prompts, family history stories, curating family photos, using photograph as writing prompt for family stories, essential reading, writing tips, photo stories talk resources, autobiographical writing prompts, planning tips Comment

How to use photographs as prompts for writing life stories

Use these tips to tell the stories behind your family photos and leave a visual AND narrative history to your children—a gift from the past to the future.