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An Autobiography can be a Gift for Generations to Come
Hospice Foundation of America offers advice for telling your life story.
One of the most valuable gifts you can give your children and grandchildren are your memories. Your life story, the origins of your family values and traditions, is the beginning of their life story.
But how do you get started on creating your autobiography? HFA's award-winning book, A Guide To Recalling and Telling Your Life Story, helps you organize your thoughts and put the first words down on paper.
Developed by Hospice Foundation of America and the Southeast Florida Center on Aging, Florida International University, the Guide can be used easily by anyone who wants to share information that helps descendants see themselves as part of a larger family and community.
Using a series of exercises and "questions for reflection," the Guide helps you discuss your family, growing up, your adult life and growing older. Designed as a workbook, you can record your reflections directly into the pages of the Guide.
"What more precious gift could you give your family than the gift of your memories and values," noted Jack D. Gordon, Chairman and CEO of Hospice Foundation of America. "The Guide can help anyone produce an autobiographical heirloom to be treasured by generations to come." [Note: Mr. Gordon served as Chairman and CEO of HFA until his death in 2005.]
What memories should you share with your family? There aren't any rules. Some suggestions include information about your parents and siblings, neighborhoods where you grew up, and how new inventions and world events affected your life.
Here are nine tips from the Hospice Foundation of America for telling your life story:
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Try to include names, dates and as many historical facts as you can remember.
- Grammar and spelling aren't important as you record your thoughts.
- Use the word "I." After all, it's your story.
- Keep in mind that early memories usually return toward evening
- Write to an old friend to help trigger memories.
- Write down memories as they come to you; you can arrange them in chronological order later.
- Ask questions. Call friends and family, search through family albums.
- Approach your project in small pieces, setting aside amounts of time that feel right for you.
- Your autobiography can be recorded on tape rather than written.
Health care professionals who work with older men and women can also use this tool to facilitate the natural process of life review for them and for their loved ones.
The Guide for
Recalling and Telling Your Life Story sells for $18.00 including
postage and handling. For more information or to purchase The
Guide, contact HFA at
1-800-854-3402
or order online.
