For many people, the desire to create a memoir begins with a simple question: What will future generations know about me? That question sparked one man’s journey as he reflected on his family’s history.
Determined to leave behind more than just names and dates, Don Irving set out to document his own story, hoping to share his values, experiences, and lessons with generations to come. What started as a personal mission soon became a meaningful and fulfilling project.
Don kindly shared his experience with us, reflecting on the process of creating his LifeBook and the lasting impact it will have on his family:
A few years ago, my wife and I were at her family cemetery, planting flowers and cleaning gravestones that date as far back as 1839. I asked her about several of the people buried there, and she had no idea about any of them other than her grandparents. I wondered what they had been like—what were their dreams, their values, their accomplishments, their loves, their passions, and their vocations? I have always felt that it is important to understand and know your family predecessors, to help you find your place in life. Leaving that cemetery, I decided to do something about it.
I enlisted LifeBook Memoirs to help me write my own story in the hope that it might provide perspective for the lives of future generations. As a parent, I feel it is incredibly important to share and demonstrate our core values and inner strengths to our children. With my book, I can now vicariously share these values with future generations and, hopefully, help shape their lives in some small way.
I thought this would be a daunting task. Once I established a rapport with my interviewer, however, my mission quickly evolved and developed a rhythm that made it exciting. Working in person with my interviewer and having monthly meetings with my project manager, we were able to refine the book into something that I am very proud of.
I would highly recommend LifeBook Memoirs if you are considering such a project.
Don’s LifeBook, An Anecdotal Hyphen, was completed in 2024.
