Memoir Writing

Memoirs aren’t just for the wealthy and famous. Every life is important, and your own story describes where you grew up, worked, lived, and played. Who you loved. What you did. Technology and communications are changing our world so quickly and people move countries far more than they ever did, so your life has been very different from that of your descendants. Perhaps you grew up without cell phones, computers, or even television or electricity – whatever you’ve experienced, you are your family’s only link to your past. Your memoirs will be a living history.

It’s a way of reaching out to grandchildren and great-grandchildren still to be born; a way of sharing life’s lessons and saying, “I love you” even after you’ve gone. Writing your story down is a fool-proof way of making sure your story remains correct in every detail when it’s passed down to the next generation.

The realization that publishing your memoir for your loved ones is completely possible may be all the motivation you need to start this important project and while some clients need a lot of assistance in writing their memoirs (even ghostwriting), others merely require basic editing and a guide to self-publishing. Whatever you need – from expanding your notes to a full manuscript, designing your personal book cover to finally self-publishing a professional-looking paper-back – I’m as close as your computer and I would love to help you.

Therapeutic value

Writing down memories is useful in processing ‘stuff’ that we have gone through. While this can be painful, it is also liberating. Marius Joubert is a client of mine. I ate a Jeep (published by New Voices), is his story of the mountain biking accident that left him with severe brain injuries and many broken bones. During his long and painful recovery (during which time he lost his job), Marius wrote down his memories and coping strategies and asked me to edit his notes. Our collaboration resulted in a truly inspiring book. But the book was just the beginning, and Marius now a life coach who uses his hard-won lessons to help others achieve their own goals.