How to ask good follow-up questions in a family history interview

Five easy ways to get the best stories from your family member just by responding thoughtfully to their answers (hint: it starts with really listening!).

family history, the art of listeningDawn M. RoodeOctober 28, 2024what is an open-ended question, how to ask good follow up questions in a family history interview, what types of questions get the best family stories, tips for family history interview questionsComment

Life Story Links: October 22, 2024

Covering a 3-week period (we took a week off!), Dawn Roode’s curated roundup for October 22, 2024, is especially rich—bookmark this one, fellow storytellers!

curated roundupsDawn M. RoodeOctober 21, 2024recent news about personal history, curated roundup for modern memory keepers, curated list of stories for family historians, family history in the newsComment

The power of a follow-up question

Whether you’re interviewing your parents about their childhood or gathering family history info from your grandparents, good follow-up questions are key.

family history, the art of listeningDawn M. RoodeOctober 9, 2024why follow-up questions are good, family history interview techniques, is there such a thing as a bad family history interview questionComment

Life Story Links: October 1, 2024

Dawn’s curated roundup for the week of October 1, 2024, includes an array of stories of interest to personal historians, family history lovers, and memoirists.

curated roundupsDawn M. RoodeOctober 1, 2024recent news about personal history, family history in the news, curated list of stories for family historians, life story l inks personal history roundup by dawn roodeComment

“We all know who’s in the pictures”—a poor excuse for skipping captions

Here’s one time I gave in to my client’s preferences that still haunts me: Why we did not identify people in any of the photos in their family history book.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeSeptember 23, 2024an argument for captioning photos in your family album, how family history is lost, why captions are good in a life story bookComment

Life Story Links: September 17, 2024

Modern Heirloom Books’ Dawn Roode curates a bimonthly roundup of stories of interest to memoirists, personal and family historians, and memory-keepers.

curated roundupsDawn M. RoodeSeptember 17, 2024Comment

Friendly reminder: Your personal story is part of a broader family history

While your memoir is telling your stories in your words, a family tree chart outlining your relationships has a real place in that book—here’s why.

family history, memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeSeptember 9, 2024should i inlude a family tree in my personal history book, when to include a family tree in a memoir, how to make my memoir more relevant to my familyComment

Life Story Links: September 3, 2024

This week’s curated roundup includes insightful interviews with personal historians, new memoirs of note, legacy preservation tips & more memory-keeping ideas.

curated roundupsDawn M. RoodeSeptember 3, 2024recent news about personal history, personal history in the news, curated roundup for modern memory keepersComment