Memoirs Made Easy
Sharon Goerg
For the Summer 2014 issue of news&views, I wrote an article
about writing memoirs. At the time, I taught workshops
and had a long-running memoir group at a lodge in Viking.
Today, in a new location, I lead workshops and run two
groups in retirement homes to help people recall their lives
in memoir format. The focus of these workshops is on the
importance of sharing their stories with today’s generation and
future generations. In her memoirs, Grandma Moses (Anna Mary
Moses) stated: “I have written my life in small sketches, a little today,
a little yesterday, as I have thought of it, as I remember all the things
from childhood on through the years, good ones and unpleasant ones.”
I have learned, however, that many participants
do not fi nd writing or typing an easy task and need
simplifi ed ways to capture their stories and leave their
legacies. Memoirs don’t need to be in paragraph or
essay form. There are many other possibilities such as
letters, drawings, cartoons, conversations, or slogans.
These styles work well for those who want to be more
creative and artistic.
Here are some simplifi ed ways ‘to get down
your past’:
1. List a daily schedule you had when you were
a child, a teenager, a young adult (married or
not), and a parent, and perhaps compare it to a
schedule for your present day.
2. Pick a holiday and explain what made it special
or traditional.
3. Make memory banks about family members. For
example, title a paper ‘Mother’ and, from time
to time, as you think of her characteristics, jot
them down. Favourite aunts, uncles, and cousins
can also be listed this way. (Use short phrases,
complete sentences aren’t necessary.)
4. List some of the inventions that were introduced
during your life with a few notes beside them
explaining when the invention was received and
its signifi cance in your life. Most women in any
of my groups believe the automatic washing
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machine to be one of the best inventions over
the years.
5. Pick a season and, using just phrases or lists,
describe the sights, smells, and other senses that
you recall of that season, and why you chose it.
6. Write a sentence or two about the turning points
in your life. Perhaps elaborate on one. What were
the results?
7. Recipes are always good to copy for others —
especially family favourites.
8. Use four words that describe you. Perhaps give
more detail on your selections.
9. Your dislikes and likes are always interesting
to readers.
10. In writing about an earthquake I experienced
in Grade 2, I realized I wanted to know more
about its consequences. Google is very helpful to
provide information that we can no longer recall.
11. Diagrams and maps of family homes, farms, and
old neighbourhoods are always interesting and
usually only need labelling.
12. Photos and all that they detail can be listed:
clothes worn, when and why was the photo
taken, who took the photo. Don’t forget what
you notice in the background. Is there any story
around the photo?
13. Group photos, like class photos or reunions, do
not need an essay to accompany them. List your