Storytelling Hub
Blog articles to Help You Tell the Stories of the Past
On Memory Factories and Legacy Makers
If we're lucky, our brains still function as memory factories. When the need arises, we’re able to fill the orders to remember that story, that person, and with a little prompting, that name. But we’re factories that work more on whim than process. We’re undisciplined...
Writing Memorials and Tributes
Whether they’re sitting across the kitchen table from us or have been “late” for decades, writing memorials and tributes about loved ones can be hard. It’s easier to tell stories than try to encapsulate everything we feel about a person in a single essay or speech....
Which Storytelling Hat are You Wearing?
In storytelling as in life, we find ourselves wearing a variety of hats. The professional. The parent. The expert. The questioner. Some situations call for only one hat. Other times, we wear a combination. Which storytelling hat we don as we tell our own and family...
Am I really 37% Irish? Comparing Ethnicity Estimates of 3 DNA-Testing Companies
Discovering my Ethnicity via autosomal DNA testing Taking myself and my sister as a pseudo case-study, I thought it might be interesting to compare the ethnicity estimates obtained through autosomal DNA testing at three different companies. Note: This is not a...
Why Family Stories Matter
Most of us want to document the past, but we’re hard put to explain why family stories matter. Here’s my take: Family is more than the DNA in our cells, more than our biological relatedness. Family is a story in itself—a tale of where we came from. It includes what...
Can you give the Gift of Hope?
Can you give the gift of hope? My pastor would probably say no. In a recent sermon, he argued that hope doesn’t come as a gift, neatly wrapped up. It requires discipline and endurance. I get what he’s saying, but I’m not sure he’s right. Or perhaps we’re both right....
Remember the Descendants
In her Remember the Descendants blog party, Elizabeth O’Neal asks family historians how they plan to preserve genealogical research for future generations. The question is well-put for all memoirists and family storytellers. We’re creating a legacy. Even if you don’t...
Finding Your Tribe – Worth Writing About
Finding your tribe, the group of people that supports you, or supports a cause you’re invested in, can make all the difference. Knowing you can let your hair down and be yourself is comforting and exhilarating. When it happens, it’s worth writing about. I experienced...
Blog or Facebook? Which works best for your content?
A blog or Facebook? Which is better for sharing family history? It’s a question that been going around the genealogy community for the last month or so. Having one foot in the writers’ community and one foot in the family history crowd, the question surprised me. I...
Bittersweet Moments Tell Stories
In the hyper-awareness that comes with loss, quite a few bittersweet moments have embossed themselves on my heart and memory. Snapshots of love, grief, and faith, gathered over the last two weeks. I thought the dearly departed would have enjoyed some of them, were he...
Romance Stories Get Better With Age
Romance stories aren't only for the young. We've always known that. But still, it’s the stories of youthful innocence and falling in love that make the best seller lists. The stories of couples entering their seventh decade of marriage make the back pages. But those...
Stories of Forgiveness: A Brainstorming Guide
Though poignant, stories of forgiveness can be difficult to write. They call for us to reveal the dark times of our relationships with our family, friends, or even faith. Telling heartfelt stories of forgiveness push us even further than the proverbial long honest...
Legacy Republic and Moments that Matter
As a newly minted Legacy Republic consultant, I seized on the opportunity at RootsTech 2017 to get to know the company's leadership better. (Disclosure: I’m a Legacy Maker or consultant. As such I receive financial compensation from orders placed through me or my...
My Personal Hero and Why
Who’s your personal hero? Who’s protected you physically? Who inspires you to be a better version of yourself? One of my heroes has never been in a situation to do the former, although I’m sure she would. I can’t count the times my personal hero inspired me and taught...
How TapGenes Helps Tell and Change Family Health Stories
TapGenes, an application that helps families compile health information, won the 2016 RootsTech Innovator Summit. Last month, I caught up with CEO Heather Holmes to see what difference a year makes. Our Interview (In case you’re wondering, I am not affiliated with...
Why You Should Tell Family Health Stories
When we’re writing our family’s history, we tend to skip over the family health stories. With the exceptions of gory accidents or war injuries, health—or lack of it—gets a subtle billing. It often only rates a simple note of what the attending physician scrawled on a...
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