I had the pleasure today in giving a presentation at the Sunny Hills Assisted Living Facility in Homestead, Florida. It is a place that was designed to be as light and airy as possible, with pleasant decor and ample room for residents to move around and engage in social activites as they so choose. The director and a lady whom has been through all the different transitions of the facility, agreed that, Your Room at the End: Thoughts About Aging We’d Rather Avoid, was a book families of the residents should read, but they asked if I could prepare a presentation more appropriate for the residents. Capturing family memoirs is in Part 2 of Your Room and that seemed to be the right approach to take. My main point was that even though “young people” might not seem interested in “old stories”, bringing together famly stories and perhaps photographs and recipes or special traditions was something that could be then passed down from generation to generation. One of the women had actually written her memiors and was seeking the next step. I will be following up with her to see if perhaps there is something in her family history that might be of interest to a regional publisher. We had a fun exchange of ideas and we’ll see if anyone else in the group takes on this project.

The ability to scan items, perform internet searches, and self-publishing options are all tools that can be helpful in creating family memoirs.