Each persons life is a story that is telling itself in the living.....

The Need For Storytelling

There was a time when people gathered together around their kitchen tables, on their  porches, in front of bonfires - wherever and whenever a gathering was possible - and stories were told, again and again, renewed with each telling. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, this art of storytelling has been lost. In our very busy, active and often work consumed world, our time to meet with others is often limited and so verbally passing on our stories to each other is not always possible.

Every story has a beginning, a few obstacles, some hope, and a future, and by sharing these stages of our lives - by writing our stories - we can learn and continue to grow. Our stories are powerful and can be incredible, sad, beautiful, breathtaking or heartbreaking, but whatever they reveal they can take us deeper into the lives of our family and friends and even beyond. Meaningful sharing is the foundation for the caring relationships we all long for in our life. Our stories - our experiences - and our perception of those experiences - can open the hearts of others, as their walls go down, helping them to see themselves, and even ourselves, in light of the stories that define us. 

Some of our stories  might surprise us, some might move us and some might even confront us, but, throughout it all, our life - related to others through the written word - will challenge us to listen to each other and ultimately share in the narrative of our life as we, the writer, has experienced it.   

By writing our stories - our memoirs - we safeguard our personal histories and, at the same time, we leave a personal record for our family. And, in this way, through reflection and documentation, we continue to share our life with them.