Book Review/The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing
The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing By BILL DUNCAN Sharon Lippincott was determined to write her lifestory for her grandchildren, but when she wrote 14 pages and began reading the story to her grandchildren, she made an interesting discovery. The grandchildren began squirming and seemed disinterested, but her son, who was in the room, asked for more. While at that young age, the grandchildren were not captivated by her lifestory their father was. That experience led to Lippincott writing a complete lifestory, using what she calls a short-story approach by writing little vignettes about her life that were important and memorable. The style in which she wrote in proved so popular with her family and friends she started teaching the method that eventually led to her sharing those techniques in “The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing,” telling readers how to transform memories into meaningful stories. The book is an invaluable guide to putting in words those memories of life that we all have. With great emphasis, she tells how to turn the boring phrase, “I was born,” into an interesting narrative about one’s life to leave a legacy for future generations. How important is this written legacy? Ask Bill Bellando of Camas Valley who is 89 years old and daily reads from the six diaries his mother, Henrietta, left her family. “Each time I read the pages of the diaries, it is like having a conversation with mother,” he said of his long deceased mother. The diaries are now part of the Bellando heritage and are shared not only with Bellando’s children, but his grandchildren and great grandchildren. The fact that those diaries are in existence, is the very purpose of Lippincott’s crusade that everyone write their lifestory to share with future generations. She advises her readers to “write what’s in your heart and let people with degrees in literature worry about labels.” She said the writer she said should tell their “story, in their own way, in their own words, conveying truths as they understand them.” Using a slight variation og the sage advice of Maxwell Perkins, one of the most famous editors in America who guided many famous writers to literary success, who said “get it on paper and then we can deal with it,” she wrote bold letters in het book, “Write now. Revise Later.” She also advises readers to write in the first person. “There is only one absolute to writing a memoir,” she said. “Some people are under the impression that it is egotistical to use the first person singular pronoun. You are not being self centered, you are just being clear.” As a writing instructor, I give special attention to her chapter on “Finishing Touches,” in which she discusses punctuation and very clearly states, “punctuation and grammar are the rules that facilitate reading and understanding. Punctuation works like stop signs and traffic lights to regulate the flow of words.” I also give her top grades for including memory triggers that can be used both by the writer and a person interviewing someone to do thie lifestory. She also includes what she calls “jump starts,” to keep the story moving. “The best stories are the ones that let you know not only what the person did, or what they went through, but also who they are,” she said. “You don’t have to be a great writer to write a lifestory.” Explaining why the lifestory is so important, she said in today’s fast moving society, “we may someday be glad that somebody who knew how to use a needle and thread or hoe a field, wrote down their experiences. (Bill Duncan can be reached at bduncan@nrtoday.com or by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470)
How to transform memories into meaningful stories
By Sharon M. Lippincott
Lighthouse Point Press
Paperback $16.95
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