"Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams."

Opening Remarks: Great Gifts

On the top of my list (since Thanksgiving is just days away) is the gift of gratitude. I heard someone else once say something that sums it up for me – “We don’t deserve anything we want until we are grateful for what we already have.” And that’s not being glib. There are many things we hope for, but we must always remember to count our blessings. Some of those blessings often come disguised as difficulties.

Another great gift is to listen to another’s story. I don’t mean politely pay attention; I mean listen with your whole attention, giving dignity and appreciation to the telling of that person’s story.

The gift of preserving a life story is, of course, valuable and pretty much the overall point of Your Life Is Your Story. Big project, or small, the important thing is to preserve the story. More specifically on that below with our feature article about the National Day of Listening, and with the personal history “resources you can use”.

Thank you to all who continue to read this monthly newsletter and for those of you who have recently subscribed.

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While the main focus of this newsletter is to share thoughts, ideas, and insights on life story writing you should know that I offer various services and also mention some products and services that can be helpful. You are under no obligation to purchase anything, but if any of these products or services are helpful and you decide to utilize them then I am most grateful.

Thanks for reading. – Tom

Featured Article: Listening Day

This Friday, November 28, 2008 (yes, the day after Thanksgiving) StoryCorps is inviting you to participate in the first annual National Day of Listening. It’s a good time of year to do that. Families will be gathered together. Pick one member and encourage them to tell some of their story in an hour or so. Granted, it won’t be a full blown memoir, but it’s a start.

Visit the StoryCorps website to find out more - www.nationaldayoflistening.org. They’ve simplified the process to make it easy for anyone to participate.

You can read other articles on life-story writing here.

Resources You Can Use

MemoryPress Books are a great way to share your life story. You can create beautifulbooks that commemorate a wedding, anniversary, graduation, career, your life story, funeral book or for any worthwhile reason.

You can start your MemoryPress Book process right away and for just $50. When you purchase your $50 publishing credit, you use MemoryPress FREE. It’s an incredible and user-friendly online way to build your story into a book. Upload pictures, invite others to contribute writing, select a cover and revise, edit and proof your book and then a turnkey process binds and prints it. Your entire $50 will go straight to publishing when you are finished with your memory book!

You can do the whole thing yourself with great customer support and instructions. If you find you need more help, like a writer or editor, I am available for hire to assist you and get that long awaited story to print. You can find out more at here.

MemoryGrabber 4.0

MemoryGrabber is a great downloadable e-book resource to help you put together your life story. Michael Boyter of Family History Products put this valuable resource together and he’s updated and revised it to make it even better.

It’s very affordable (just $14.95), but he’s now made it possible to type and save your information right into the PDF e-book. If you are unsure how to get started on your memoir, autobiography, or life story the MemoryGrabber 4.0 will inspire you and lead you through the practical process of your life history. Find out more here.

Pictures of Life

LIFE Magazine has joined with Google to post an incredible number of incredible photos online. Some of these are timeless and quite historic. Visit the LIFE photo archive.

Closing Information

Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!

Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert