Turning diaries into life stories

We've had a request from a lady who's inherited her mother's and grandmother's diaries, wanting to see if we could give her advice on how to turn the entries into a meaningful account of her relatives' lives. Well, we don't usually work with the deceased (!), but our methods could be applied...this could possibly help some readers, so I will give a brief overview:

1) Our pre-interview questionnaire allows us to get the bare bones of someone's life story so we can prepare interview questions and roughly know the scope of the project. This questionnaire covers names/dates, work history, 'firsts' (ie. first pets, first love, first car, etc.), education history, hobbies...I suggested to the lady that she fills in our questionnaire for each relative so she can get some basic structure to her research.
2) The flesh on these bones would be feelings and anecdotes - and there should be plenty of material  contained in the private diaries.
3) The chronology of events is extremely important when trying to recreate a life history, so the diaries will make that part easy to decipher.
4) The final stage would be trying to place her mother and grandmother in history - to give their lives some historical context (usually societal values and impact of world/national/local events on their lives). This 'outside' research, along with the information held in the diaries, would make her relatives seem more complete.  
5) The next stage would be for her to either write the life stories, using direct quotations/examples from the diaries, and having us to edit/proof-read/design and layout a book OR I could interview her to get the information that she'd found from the diaries and then edit her words into a narrative and create a book, complete with photographs and other memorabilia.

Although the diaries are a treasure trove of information about the lady's relatives, it must seem extremely daunting for the lady to make a start...we will see what happens (in several year's time, no doubt!)

The Listening Project

Just listened to the snippets of conversations that have been aired on Radio 4's The Listening Project so far - this is a joint scheme between BBC radio stations and The British Library aiming to 'capture the nation in conversation'.
As I interview on a regular basis, it was interesting to hear, in particular, Beryl and her grandson Graham as he asked her how she'd met his 'Grandad'. She reminisced (in a very girlie fashion) about how they'd courted and at the end of the conversation, Beryl told Graham that she'd loved talking to him: 'I've thoroughly enjoyed it, Pet.'
I wondered how many other families sit and have the same sort of intimate conversations...Graham learnt a lot about his grandma that day - things they'd never discussed in 30 years.
Hopefully, others listening will be inspired to interview their own grandparents - it's a mutually beneficial process, and (as Beryl proved) the older generation are full of surprises (and I should know as I interview them all the time!).

How people find us...

Guess what’s one of the most popular search engine enquiries that lead visitors to our website?

‘This is Your Life Red Book’

If you are from the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand or Sweden you will see the reasoning…

This is Your Life was a long-running TV programme where celebrities and ‘ordinary’ people with exceptional life stories would be surprised with a ‘Red Book’ (in the UK) containing the story of their life. The tales would be fleshed-out by friends, family, school-teachers, etc. during live TV programmes.

The first recipient of the iconic book in the US in 1946 was a paraplegic called Lawrence Tranter who’d been injured during WW2. He was used as an ‘heroic unknown’ by Ralph Edwards (who would later present This is Your Life in the US) to highlight the plight of returning veterans who were depressed and withdrawn; the book focused mainly on Tranter’s life pre-war, helping to life his spirits and allowing listeners to view injured veterans in a more positive light.

The appeal of revealing life stories on TV didn’t die when This is Your Life finished; Piers Morgan’s Life Stories is testament to that, and radio audiences still love Desert Island Discs…

Seems Red Letter Books will be (mistakenly) associated with TV programmes for some time to come!

Image: Michael Aspel with the famous Red Book

Call the Midwife: 'ordinary' life stories

Lovely to see that Jennifer Worth's trilogy, beginning with Call the Midwife, is at the top of Amazon's bestselling memoirs/biography list, rather than the usual diet of sporting and TV 'celebrity' life stories. The success of the TV spin-off surely goes some way to explain the books' popularity, but they are well written and engaging slices of 1950s East End social history. Readers obviously can't get enough of the extraordinary stories of 'ordinary' people - some may identify with the characters, the area and the period of history, but I would think all readers are thankful that times have moved on...or have they? I suspect that if a practicing midwife were to write something similar today, some of the life stories would be equally heart-wrenching.

Already written your life story?

We received several requests in the past month from people who'd already written their life story, but needed someone to turn it into a book for them.

Could we help? Absolutely...

We can offer editing and proof-reading for manuscripts that need fine tuning (or a lot of work!) and/or a design, page layout and printing service for those with finished life stories.

If you would like more information then please contact us...info@redletterbooks.co.uk

Benefits of recording your life story

There are many benefits to telling us your life story apart from making sure your history is preserved - don't just take our word for it...according to Robert Atkinson of the Center for the Study of Lives at the University of Southern Maine:

• The process of telling your life story can give you a clearer perspective and bring greater meaning to your life lived;
• You will know yourself better, have a stronger idea of who you are and your self-esteem will increase;
• You can share cherished experiences and your insights with your loved ones;
• You will feel joy, satisfaction and inner peace by sharing your story with others;
• Telling your life story can be a very therapeutic and healing experience as you release feelings;
• You may well see your life differently and this may inspire you to change something in your life;
• Members of your family, and others who read your story, will see you in a different light and understand you more clearly;
• You may decide how you want to live the rest of your life - to end your story on 'a high note'.

If that isn't enough to persuade you...?!

Dry facts or personal theatre?

The excitement of finding new leads when tracing your family tree must be part of the reason why genealogy is gaining in popularity (and the persuasive power of the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?!). Whether clicking through the internet, riffling through dusty volumes or whizzing through microfiche, there is nothing like finding that nugget of ancestry.

But instead of revealing dry facts and dates, wouldn’t the whole subject come even more alive if you could find out personal details about your ancestors: their memories, their passions and their feelings?

That’s the beauty of a ‘Life Story Book’, because your personality is preserved alongside your history – in your turn of phrase, your emotions and what you choose to include (and leave out) of your tale.

Give future generations the thrill of finding more than just facts about their ancestor – contact us today!