I was approached recently by the good people from Blurb who have launched a campaign to get people writing down their family stories.
It is said that, in an average lifetime, each of us has influence over 5 generations – our children and grandchildren, our peers, our parents and our grandparents. Imagine your life in that context. We each span maybe 6 or even 8 decades, each different from the next……fashions, technology, social conditions, economics, music…..and yet we rarely hold our experiences in great enough regard to consider them important enough to share with the next generation.
Imagine for a moment, if you will, discovering that one of your grandparents had written a diary. Imagine that you had this diary in your possession. He/she lived in a time when life was unimaginably different to the world in which you currently reside, and they have given you intimate insight into their experiences. Those words would be more precious than gold, right? Now imagine what a gift you could provide for your children’s future if you were to provide a narrative alongside those old family photographs from their childhood. Quite a legacy for them.
The Nation of Storytellers is a campaign which has been driven by the fact that so few of us record our family history – or indeed our own lives – and that, if we don’t, the memories, experiences and stories could be lost forever. Research found that a third of children find their grandparents’ stories ‘boring’ and would rather play on the computer or talk to their friends than listen to their history – and as a result family stories and skills are under threat of being lost forever.
To get people talking, and to try to capture and celebrate the rich and fantastic stories that exist in households throughout Britain, Blurb are encouraging people to enter a short (300 words) synopsis of their story – or that of someone close to them – at the website: www.nationofstorytellers.com. The 20 ‘top’ stories will have a professional photographer and journalist come to their house to help them capture the story exactly how they want it. All of these will be gathered up and turned into a beautiful printed book. Not only will the winners get copies of the book (plus extra to give to friends/family), but they’ll also get £250 of Blurb vouchers to make photo albums/books/whatever they like with Blurb.
So, please join the Nation of Storytellers.
If you’re looking for a more permanent way to preserve your family memories, remember that you can lay out the events of each of your lives in the order they happened, in words and pictures, at http://www.SaveEveryStep.com, for free.
By the way, this is not a sponsored post. I just have a passion and want you to hear it. No one ever offers me money to write….!
I really like this, I was never bored by the stories of my grandparents and parents and I wish I had made the effort to note them down. At least my kids will have my blog
Thanks! You’re right to save your memories. A blog is a great place to start!