Life Story Links: January 21, 2025

“To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone because of it.”
—Joyce Maynard

Vintage postcard with illustration of the “little church round the way” in New York , circa 1907, from the personal ephemera collection of Dawn Roode.

Lessons from notable chroniclers

TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF MEMOIR
“When the writing was flagging and I wasn’t sure how to forge ahead, I would return to photographs, diaries and letters, as a way of keeping the past alive, and also reminding me of things forgotten.” Lily Dunn on the messy and rewarding dance between memory and meaning in memoir.

WRITING CRAFT LESSON
“Structure is a container, of sorts, a container that teaches our readers how to read our books, and also, perhaps, how to read us.” Beth Kephart ruminates on the structuring of essays, memoirs, and stories.

PROMPTS AT THE READY
So you finally find a stretch of uninterrupted time to write…and when you sit down, you draw a blank. Has that ever happened to you? This simple idea—keeping a notebook of self-generated writing prompts—will keep your ideas flowing.

Beyond legacy

FILM BIOGRAPHERS IN CONVERSATION
“Family stories are more than history; they’re the heartbeat of connection across generations,” Jamie Yuenger says in this interview about the power of resilience narratives, the importance of documenting family histories, and the role of vulnerability in creating meaningful connections. Listen in:

TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF LEGACY WRITING
“Writing coach Rebecka Vigus talks about how legacy writing became a crucial part of her life, the profound discoveries she’s made along the way, and why she believes it can play a vital role in preventing cognitive decline.”

ARCHIVE FROM A REMARKABLE LIFE
“There’s a lot to go through. Plus, it’s just weird to be throwing away someone’s life, you know?” Ruth Westheimer’s son talks about going through his famous mother’s belongings after her death, sorting what will be saved as personal effects and what will be archived towards her professional legacy.

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN GENERATIONS
“If photo albums serve as heavily curated, or simplified narratives of our lives, how can we make them feel more true to our experiences? How can their contents be reworked or evolved over time, to reflect our changing memories?”

TANGIBLE ARTIFACTS
Curbed asked a dozen people who fled their homes in the wildfires about the objects they lost and what they saved.

Your next TBR memoirs?

HISTORIC PAPAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Originally intended to be published after his death, Pope Francis has made history as the first living pontiff to release a memoir. “He is one of the most influential leaders of our time, but still seems rooted in ordinariness,” reads this review.

INHERITED HEALING
“I wanted to know, in our DNA, was my code written for me to experience depression,” journalist James Longman says in this revealing interview about his forthcoming memoir, The Inherited Mind:

Miscellaneous

THE SCENT OF MEMORIES
“Smells can only bring to life the personal experiences, those that have a clear sense of personal presence and emotional charge.” Jonas Olofsson on on the science behind the hidden olfactory keys to times long past.

FEELING IN FARSI, WRITING IN ENGLISH
“As we begin to tell our stories, committing them to paper, we realize that in our adopted language, we cannot simply be storytellers—we must also be translators, interpreters.” Sahar Delijani on translating her life from one language to another.

THE POLITICS OF PLACE
“What roles do place and memory play in the construction of a narrative? In this conversation, memoirist Shze-Hui Tjoa and novelist Farah Ali talk about how these forces affect the storytelling in their respective books.”