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Conference: Telling difficult life stories and getting them read

Conference: Telling difficult life stories and getting them read

By Sally-Anne Watson Kane All who attended the Life Stories Australia (LSA) Conference 2022 agree that it was an enormous success. LSA members who attended the all-day conference on Friday 2 December 2022 were treated to an entertaining and insightful day of presentations and discussions about topics related to documenting and preserving life stories. Jacqueline […]

The best Father’s Day present you can give Dad

The best Father’s Day present you can give Dad

My father was ninety-one years old when he died recently, far outliving his father and grandfather who died well before they reached their sixties. Dad was a doctor, a kind, caring man who was available for every patient day and night. He sat with them in their sorrows and rejoiced with them at weddings and […]

What to give Mum for Mother’s Day

What to give Mum for Mother’s Day

My mother died last year. We had a ‘Covid’ funeral with only ten family members in the room. Everyone else Zoomed in. While tackling the cremation arrangements, we had to write something about her to read out at the funeral service. My sister and brother stepped up and wrote two brilliant speeches which included stories […]

Using notes to fill in the memory gap

Using notes to fill in the memory gap

How many times have you attended a funeral and thought “I didn’t know that about them!” When we look at life stories, we often only know facets of a person from everyday interactions and conversations, or through sharing a special event. But there is always a lot more to each and every person we meet, […]

Gifts and the 21st-century dad

Gifts and the 21st-century dad

Australia’s Father’s Day celebrations this year will be a little different because of COVID-19 lockdowns around the nation. Instead of picnics, barbeques, and trips to the beach, many dads will celebrate on their own or use Zoom, Facetime, or a myriad of other devices to connect with their loved ones. There are 4.6 million dads […]

Finding memoir inspiration in heritage and history

Finding memoir inspiration in heritage and history

During the middle of winter, 1786, a 26-year-old Londoner named William Eggleton used the cover of thick fog to break into a man’s house in Southwark and stole three woollen coats and a black silk cloak. His crime earned him a berth on what became known as The First Fleet, and a free eight-month trip […]

Intuition leads to a life story

Intuition leads to a life story

It seems to me that life story writing is something you fall into after years of life experience and other forms of writing. At least, that’s how it happened for me. I’ve been a freelance writer, a copywriter, short story writer and fiction novelist. Four years ago I needed another source of income and while […]