"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: Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Checking for your Irish roots is popular for many of Irish heritage (just as it is true for many other cultural and ethnic backgrounds). The Family Research - English, Scottish and Irish Genealogy is one such site to visit.

The biography of St. Patrick is interesting and you can explore the history of St. Patrick's Day at the History Channel. Remember that you, too, have a story and writing your autobiography – or getting someone to do it for you – is an important goal. As usual our e-zine has some inspiration and suggestions.

You are receiving this e-zine because you signed up for it or someone who is subscribed passed it along to you. If a friend DID forward this to you consider subscribing by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine.

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: Lucky in Life

Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to be lucky in life? They have great success in work and love. Good things just come to them. It’s almost like they are a magnet attracting good fortune.

On the flipside there are those who can’t seem to catch a break. They suffer setbacks and difficulties. Their life is like the line in the blues song, Born Under a Bad Sign, “if it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no luck at all”.

While it appears that some people are born lucky while others are cursed the truth is that most people have good and bad experiences. What really matters is how we respond to these life situations. We can’t go through life without taking some responsibility for our actions. And if we are aware, grateful for each day, respectful of others and willing to be part of life – living it to the fullest – we’ll find we have “luck in life”.

I’m convinced that capturing our life stories – writing them down or recording them in some fashion – is beneficial. It helps us make sense of our lives, gain perspective, pass on valuable family history and I think it is even good for your health. A recent study conducted by Emory University documents how teenage children had lower rates of depression, anxiety and anger when they were able to retell family stories passed down to them by their parents (see the story by Sue Shellenbarger in the Wall Street Journal).

Give yourself a lucky break. Do something about capturing your life story. There are many ways to do it – see How to Tell Your Story for a few suggestions.

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

Resources You Can Use

The Priceless Legacy Company has created a high-quality / high-tech / high-touch service to preserve life stories.

The LifeStory Package includes the audio from the interviews and a digital slide show of photographs, preserved on DVD, along with a beautiful hard cover book with pictures and the life story presented in an engaging first person written narrative. A Legacy Consultant (such as myself) works personally with you every step of the way. And there are opportunities right now to be part of the Priceless Legacy Team and help preserve people’s stories and earn good income. Act now while the sign up kit is still discounted, because the price is going up on March 22. This is work you can be both passionate about and proud of. You can find out more here.

Journal Software

The Journal Software is so much more than just “diary software”. Great tools, templates, writing prompts and organized with so many wonderful features, all for less than $40! Free updates. I use it and highly recommend it. Find out more here.

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