I belong to a women’s group that meets weekly. I believe we’re all women ages 60 and older. Discussion topics are usually about the challenges of aging. Last week, we discussed how people are remembered by their families (for example, grandchildren and even great grandchildren) and the merits of writing down your “story” for them. Several women commented that their fathers fought in World War II and never wanted to share any experiences of that time, leaving huge gaps in their memories of them.

Someone recommended https://welcome.storyworth.com, which allows you to create custom books to tell your story, with plans that allow voice records, other family members to collaborate on your book and even guided phone interviews.

Other options were simply writing down as much of your history as you can remember, which sounds very much as though you’d be writing your autobiography–not something you’d finish on a rainy afternoon.

There’s no question this is a project, but, if you can accomplish it, your life’s story will be preserved for your loved ones, which really is a gift.