SAMPLES
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Grandma's Book:
A good memoir reads like it is an oral history - a story being told to you in person. That's why it is important for a memoirist to be able to match the style of a client to make it sound as if the client is personally telling the story. The first chapter of "Grandma's Book" was written by my client, but when it was time to talk about a very dark period in her life, the Nazi occupation, she was unable to do it. As an experienced memoirist, I was able to gently extract the information and produce a fine story using her words, as she told her children about the horrors of growing up in war-torn Holland. The book was printed on an archival quality off-white linen stock to give the appearance of age without permitting any of the deteoorizations caused by the aging process. The font chosen is an almost perfect reproduction of the client's writing style, as is the font for the included letter written by her husband. It is a book designed to last hundreds of years. Pictures of the client's ancestors going back to the mid 1800s are included with captions and stories that the client remembers hearing about as a child. What an heirloom! All About Mary: An important part of a memoirist's job is asking the right questions. This talent is what makes stories come alive. The right questions are also essential when relaying the details of a culture that are foreign to newer generations. In "All About Mary", Mary's great-great grandchildren learned what it was like growing up in "Old Southwest", the Jewish part of Washington, DC, at a time when chickens were caged and sold from the sidewalk within sight of the U.S. capitol. Mary was so happy with her book that she decided to commission another volume that covered the rest of her life and included all of her old family photos and portraits, taking the time to talk about each of her ancestors pictured in the photographs. Mary's daughter-in-law printed Mary's memoir on an inexpensive home printer using archival paper and inks. A good memoirist is knowledgeable about papers and inks, and can guide you if you prefer to self-publish. "All About Mary" was printed on a very light blue-grey laid paper that complimented the artwork chosen by the client. You may enjoy making your own acid-free paper. If you prefer to handwrite your completed memoirs, acid-free gel ink pens are available. Archival quality materials are an important part of preserving your family heirloom. |
Chapters
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4 written by The Memoirist. (PDF)
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