Capturing Life's Stories

Article submitted by Dennis Stack, President of America's Life Stories, LLC.
For more information, he can be reached at 602-620-9844, or visit their website: www.americaslifestories.com

Paintings on a cave wall, tribal members gathered around an elder, all listening intently. A bard traveling the mediaeval towns of Europe. A circle of preschoolers enraptured by a picture book as their teacher reads.

Disparate images, but all with a theme that runs deep in human culture. Stories and storytelling are basic building blocks of society. They place us in historical context. They teach us right from wrong. They make us laugh and cry, and allow us to feel compassion and remorse. They tell us about the struggles and hardships endured to achieve a dream. Stories provide us with a moral base to understand the actions of others, and allow us to better know ourselves; they provide us with the continuity we need to connect the past with our future.

Today, storytelling is a dying art. In our mobile, hectic lives, who has time to tell their own story, or listen to the stories of others? It hasn't been that long since the home entertainment system was grandpa by the fireplace. Now, the wisdom and joy that was passed on in this setting is a thing of the past.

And I know from first-hand experience what a loss this represents. Several years ago, I lost my father to congestive heart failure. Shortly after, I lost my mother to the fog of Alzheimer's. I had always imagined that my parents would have a close relationship with my daughter, providing her with knowledge and a perspective on life that I could not.

Now my daughter is twelve-years-old. Everyday, I think of all the things I wish I knew about my parents, all the questions I would love to ask, so my daughter could benefit. But now, it is too late.

We make wills, write trusts, and buy life insurance to provide comfort and security for those we love. Yet, very few of us leave our loved ones with the one thing that matters most: a record of our experiences, successes, failures, dreams, and memories--our life stories.

Life stories can be saved in many ways. Journaling, hiring a biographer, and photo albums can be effective, but they can be time-consuming, expensive and, in the case of photos, provide incomplete information. Many people research family genealogy, learning about their family tree but not necessarily knowing the stories of the individuals they learn about.

I have solved these difficulties by recording my life story. Quick and easy to do, oral biographies (capturing a life story on tape) is by far the easiest and fastest way to get the job done. An oral biography not only captures the facts; it captures the voice, the emotion and the personality of the story- teller. I can pass this on to my daughter, and she can share it with her children. But, how I wish I had my parents' oral biographies to share with her now.

I invite everyone who reads these words to save the story of your life or the story of someone you love. An oral biography of your life story, recorded in your own voice, is one of the easiest and most rewarding activities you will ever participate in. And the result is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give.