Life Story Links: June 4, 2024

“Comb through your experiences. Look through a different lens. Walk around a memory, a time period, or a specific event. Interview the memory and jot down questions about it.”
—Rita Sepetys

Vintage postcard of black bear cubs from the New York Zoological Park, circa 1914, courtesy of The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library Digital Collection.

When our stories overlap

‘IT DEPENDS ON WHO TELLS THE STORY’
Her father “knew how to tell a good story because he grew up in Appalachia, where life is rich with history and the best storytellers are both born and made.” Memoirist Bobi Conn on her family’s long tradition of unreliable narrators and morally gray characters.

NOW OR LATER?
Lilly Dancyger did not let her family read her first memoir before it was published, but she had a very different approach with her second. Here she weighs in on navigating hard (subjective) truths and who you should invite to read your memoir in advance.

A LAYERED NARRATIVE & A STAR TURN
Launching June 5, Pack One Bag is an audio podcast that “tells the epic true story of an Italian family, split apart by love, fascism, and war. Through shocking discoveries—and Stanley Tucci’s artistry—an enthralling personal history comes to life.” Watch the trailer:

How we tell stories

THE CHANGING SHAPE OF NONFICTION
“I was struck then and am struck now...by the notion that confessional writing is subversive.” Christy Moore reviews The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting by Lee Gutkind (the book is subtitled “How a Bunch of Rabble-Rousers, Outsiders, and Ne’er-do-wells Concocted Creative Nonfiction”).

CONVERSATION-BASED STORYTELLING APP
A new app called Autobiographer, which has partnered with Katie Couric to help spread the word, uses “generative AI, voice interfaces, and robust privacy tools” to help individuals preserve their life stories.

Put it in the post

LOVE LETTER
“I like the feeling of knowing that whoever is on the receiving end will smile when they see my letter in their mailbox. That a small slice of me made its way by truck, car, boat, or plane to my receiver’s hands.” Samantha Dion Baker shares some of the most creative letter-writing ideas I’ve ever seen—a joy to scroll through even if she doesn’t inspire you to act!

SEALED FOREVER?
Last week I shared thoughts on the ethics and obligations around reading personal letters that belonged to a deceased family member—I’d love to know, after you read the blog post, how you think you’d react to such a newfound family history bounty!

HISTORICAL CORRESPONDENCE
A letter about harp singing and squirrel stew is one of the primary documents Michael Aday chose to help tell the story of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in his book, Letters from the Smokies. The librarian had 1.4 million records in the park’s archival collection to sift through to help tell its stories.

Memoirs and those who’ve gone before us

THE RESTRICTIONS OF TRADITION
“For Mom and me, visiting our grandmothers was going to be more complicated this time—not just because they were deceased, but because access to graves in Taiwan isn’t straight forward.” Eve J. Chung on tradition, family, and mourning in Taiwan.

GENERATIONAL SHIFTS
Claire Messud’s autobiographically inspired new novel includes characters modeled after late family members. “It was a joy to be with them and to be trying to understand their thoughts. It felt like the opposite of passing judgment.”

THIS WRITING IS ‘AN ACT OF SERVICE’
“Every time I learn something new about a lost loved one, I can’t quite say that it’s like they’re alive again—but man, it’s still a beautiful feeling to discover that there is still more to discover.” Professional speechwriter Chandler Dean provides partly satirical, partly genuine advice for how to write a eulogy.

A MEMOIR HE NEVER THOUGHT HE’D WRITE
Sebastian Junger, whose writing I have long been a fan of, has a new book, In My Time of Dying—a memoir that weaves his journalistic sensibility with his personal experience. Because I plan on reading the book, I have not watched this video, but the hourlong interview looks interesting (find a briefer dive with Anderson Cooper here):

Journalist Sebastian Junger interviewed by Miwa Messer about his new memoir, In My Time of Dying.

Before it’s too late…

GIVE THEM A LITTLE NUDGE
“As I watch my friends grow older and enter new phases of life, I’ve noticed a common thread: Year after year, many of us happen upon questions we wish we’d asked the loved ones who are no longer with us.” Isabel Fattal shares three stories about the power of family stories.

‘I’VE HAD A GOOD LIFE’
“Also known as a pre-funeral or a life celebration, a living funeral is like a unique memorial service held for a person before he or she dies.”

A GRANDFATHER’S WISDOM
In the most recent episode of the podcast Who We Remember, video biographer and host Jamie Yuenger speaks with Liam McCormick about his desire to document the life story of his grandfather and the importance of knowing one’s family history and how it can help make sense of oneself. Watch below, or listen in here.