- Turning
Memories into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories
ISBN 0961937327
- Animate Your Memories,
January 24, 2002
Reviewer: Susan Shotthafer from Murphy,, OR United States
Few of us are blessed with the recorded memories of our parents,
grandparents, or great-grandparents. Perhaps, until recently,
many of us gave little thought to preserving our memories for
family members who follow us. The idea that "ordinary"
people possess life experiences holding the power to reassure,
encourage, and inspire their grandchildren and great-grandchildren
is increasingly gaining attention and respect.
- Maybe, on your own initiative,
you have decided to strengthen the bond you have created with
your grandchildren by beginning to record your life experiences
to share with them. Or, maybe for some time, your children have
been pestering you to record your memories.
- But, perhaps you have
written little in years. Or, perhaps you have only a slight notion
of the procedure for this seemingly daunting task of composing
memoirs. Denis Ledoux, author of Turning Memories Into Memoirs,
understands the uncertainties that can overwhelm when we do not
know how and where to begin writing the stories of our lives.
Convinced that "everybody's got a story," Ledoux, a
published fiction and non-fiction writer with years of experience
teaching at both the secondary and university level, has incorporated
the sum of his skills and knowledge into his Turning Memories
Into Memoirs. His additional fourteen years of experience in
teaching life story writing workshops provide first-hand expertise
in the instruction of memoir writing.
- Ledoux's Turning Memories
Into Memoirs offers advice for planning and adhering to a regularly
scheduled writing time. This memory writng guide will enable
you to write memories that your family members will want to read
again and again by teaching you to include and focus on the elements
fundamental to all successful storytelling. Ledoux teaches you
how to organize and prioritize your stories so that you will
be sure to begin with memories that best exemplify the life you
have lived. His in-depth discussion of the requisite for truthful
storytelling and advice for dealing with controversy provides
guidance for first-time storytellers facing the dilemma of wanting
to write honestly without being harsh or offensive. Just a few
other topics covered are "memory jogs," painful memories,
the avoidance of preaching, and "the finished product."
Included, you will also find memoirs written by Ledoux's workshop
participants. Ledoux's guide is comprehensive yet concise and
answers virtually every question you might have when you write
your memoirs.
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