Writing Your Life Story

an attendee and I discuss house history

Last weekend fellow author Linda Austin and I were at the Webster Groves Bookshop to discuss writing memoirs and family history. It was nice to see so many people shopping in an independent book store despite the big Missouri football game being televised that afternoon. I enjoyed talking to people who are working on their own stories. It is nice to bounce ideas off one another, and I hope that Linda and I offered encouragement and support. Most of us have that big critic sitting on our shoulders telling us that what we have to say isn't important, or that no one will care anyway.

I struggle with this myself, but I keep writing anyway. How often have we wished that our own ancestors had kept diaries so that we could see what their lives were like? Think about how quickly things change. Certainly my experience in giving birth will be vastly different than what my children will go through. Look at technology. From televisions to telephones, we have seen extraordinary changes in our life time. So go ahead - kick the critic to the curb and write your stories down. Someone in the future will be glad that you did.