January Writing Suggestions
Sharing Stories of Recent Generations
- Tell stories about the people you knew personally - your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins
- Describe their looks and mannerisms. Do you, your siblings, or cousins share any of these to one degree or another?
- Did the decisions - such as relocating - made by these earlier generations affect anyone in your immediate family tree? How?
- Are family naming patterns common within your immediate family? Did this cause confusion within the family?
- Do you have any unique documents, photos, or family artifacts that shed light on your family dynamics? Explain how they add to your knowledge of your immediate family.
- Memories may not easily percolate to the surface, but asking yourself questions like, "What was grandma like?" or "Why did Dad and Mom move to a new city?" may help in building your story.
- Try not to judge a previous generation's actions or beliefs through our 21st-century lens. You don't have to agree with their decisions to tell their stories respectfully.
