In the article “Health Benefits of writing your life story” written by Rosemary Osborne, she says…
“There is significant research and evidence to say that writing about aspects of your life is therapeutic. It helps the mind work through events and emotions, gives structure and an opportunity to reframe and re-evaluate decisions and relationships, and can allow perspectives to be reshaped. It also allows your life to be remembered as you want it remembered for generations to come and your life messages passed on. Your future family will be able to connect with you.
One of the most surprising benefits of storytelling relates to health. Engaging your brain to explore and record your memories is an activity that has multiple positive outcomes. It can bring into focus the positive and negative events of your life, reframe your life journey and increase family communications and understanding.”
My mother for several years has wanted to record her memories of her life. She talked with her sister Linda and they set up a simple plan that would work for both of them. They both chose a simple process of sending emails back and forth to each other with the stories that stuck out in their memory
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In my aunt’s words, “The fact that JoAnn has really wanted to do this for a while has kept me motivated to participate and help. It’s turned out to be a fun challenge. It helps that there’s no set order or plan. It’s spontaneous. Memories from one email bring up other memories for the next email. I think it’s great that you want to inspire people to write their own stories.”
This is their first email, titled, “And So It Begins…”
If they did not already have a photo or sample, my mother would get on the internet and find pictures to help the reader understand what they are talking about.
You could write your story as a series of letters to yourself.
There are no rules when it comes to recording and writing your life story. The one thing to keep in mind is that you will be enriching your life as well as those who read it in the future.