HONOR YOUR STORY

Services for Personal Life Story Projects

video

Documentaries not only capture the stories, they capture the person – their mannerisms, way of speaking, that fire in their eyes.

Once the theme for the personal biography is determined, sample questions are provided for reviewing, making notes and outlining memories that must be shared. The interview is conducted with professional lighting, audio and video equipment. The final piece can be edited to include photos, music and titles all suitable to the theme and scope of the project.

The final movie is provided on a DVD.

books

Books are a beautiful way to share family history. Having your own book as a part of your personal library or displayed on the coffee table puts the information gathered in this process at your fingertips to be enjoyed as a part of your every day.

Together we determine the best approach to developing the book. Some subjects have a wonderfully developed writing style and wish to pen their memories. For them, a workbook of sample questions is provided to help prompt stories and reflections on a variety of topics. These writings are then paired with photos and laid out in book form.

For others, the process works best through an interview format. We conduct the interview covering pre-determined topics. The interview transcription is then paired with photos and other scanned documents.

The modern, elegant design and layout of the books are available in format options including paperback or hardcover with sizes ranging from 7” x 7” to 13” x 11”. The printing service allows for the ordering of any number of copies.

consulting

Have you always wanted to tackle a family biography project yourself but not known where to begin? There are so many tools available now for creating such projects, but what will work best for you? We are happy to discuss your ideas and share tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way. Technical issues, approaches to organization and brainstorming themes can be resolved and get you on your way to capturing your family’s treasures.

workshops

We work with groups of all ages, helping them to engage in the process of capturing life stories. Young groups enjoy learning how to conduct oral history projects with their family and community members. Adults of any age can participate in guided autobiography groups where topics are explored and shared with one another. Or maybe your group wants to learn the nuts and bolts of how to grab their camcorders and conduct interviews themselves. Single event and multi-session workshops are available as appropriate.

Clients are saying...

"Dear Ronda,

It has been a pleasure to work with you as you created a Family History Book for my family. From our first meeting I knew you would be easy to work with and you would strive to capture my Mother's life and our family in the book and you did succeed! For many years, I have wanted to put a book together about my family and I have written bits and pieces about but it was too overwhelming for me. You provided a framework with questions we could answer and the kinds of pictures to provide and made it into lovely book.

This book will be a cherished heirloom for our family and I have just ordered two copies which I will give my children when they are settled in their own homes.

Thanks Ronda---or should I say 'Thanks for the memories!'"