• In one session a man read aloud from the memoir he wrote in class about buying his first home back in the '60s and helping to pay his mortgage by being a "secret diner" at a new restaurant called Jack in the Box.
  
  
• From one woman came the amazing story of how she--at age 9--single-handedly rescued her parents and sisters in the Philippines during the  World War II.    
  
  
• And in yet another session the class and I laughed at one woman's hilarious tale of the boys she dated in high school while looking for "The One".

None of these people would call themselves "a writer."  Today they all live seemingly ordinary lives.

But, following the specific techniques I recommend, these people and hundreds more have unlocked memories of their pasts and actually wrote fascinating mini-memoirs during the class.  No homework involved.

These people have been thrilled to see how much they can write  in each session--whether they have experienced lives of adventure and drama or lived a seemingly everyday life.

At the end of the 3 sessions each of them walks out of the class with a mini-memoir in hand--plus the knowledge and skills to write an even longer memoir if they choose.  And each of them has already become the person their descendants will never forget.

"Where do I start writing a memoir?  
Should I begin with my earliest memories?"  

Those are questions I am asked frequently. The answer about early memories is "No."  The reason why is simple: Your earliest memories are probably fragments. To write a real memoir, even a short one, you want more than fragments, you want a narrative that tells your story and answers questions about how you made decisions in your life.  

You want to tell your true story revealing what is and was important to you as your life unfolded.  

In my class you will receive clear step-by-step instructions 
and examples to make writing your personal memoir almost effortless. 

You will learn:

• The best way to start your memoir.  My proven technique  overcomes any doubts or hesitations about how and where to begin.

• The importance of your life decisions and turning points.

• How to capture the "spirit of the times" during the years when you were young.

• Guidelines for writing about your family and friends as they were then.

• Which details are important--and which you should handle with kid gloves.

• How to write about unpleasant episodes, such as divorce, in your memoir.

• How to avoid writing a boring memoir.

• Who you should tell about your memoir and who you definitely should not.

• How long a real memoir should be.

• What to include in a travel memoir.

• What you should add to your memoir in this digital age.

• How a memoir differs from an autobiography.

Do not leave your descendants asking questions about you, wondering who you were or, worse yet, forgetting about you altogether.

Now is the time for you to write a memoir that will tell your grandchildren and their grandchildren about you, your life experiences, and answer questions they, no doubt, will have about how you lived and what life choices you made. 

The memoir you write will be like a personal private letter to the future directly from you.  A letter to people whose parents are not even born yet--but they will be related to you and curious about you.

You will become the Very Important Ancestor, the one they remember and talk about a hundred--or even two hundred--years from now.   

If all this sounds interesting, contact me by email today.  I can arrange to teach memoir writing to your group of 8 or more.   

If you cannot attend one of my classes you can order the 59 page handbook used in the classes for $15.  Just send me an email and I will bill you through Paypal.

Editing your memoir

I can also edit a short memoir you have already written.  Click here for more information.