ONE HOUR LIFE HISTORY

This is from an article I found in a magazine from 1994, by a woman named Carol Huber... That is all the reference I have I am sorry. It's great advice! :)

Writing a life history sounds like a monumental task but it can be done in an hour. It's easy, It's even fun. Here is one way to begin:

• Set aside an hour - use a timer to ease your mind, and find a comfortable place to write.
• Use a legal pad and a ballpoint pen, a typewriter or a computer. Or if writing is difficult for you, talk into a tape recorder and have someone else transcribe it.
• Begin with your name. Simply write "My name is...." Tell how you got your name what it means, your nicknames etc. If you were named for Aunt Matilda or Grandpa George, write that down.
• Now write everything you know about where you were born: the name of the hospital or the address of the house or the location of the farm. Add details about the weather, the time of day, and the day of the week.
• List the names, birthplaces, and birth dates of your parents, brothers and sisters.
• Name the schools you attended, including college. You may be tempted to begin a long story about the time you and your best friend got lost collecting for a paper drive. Resist the temptation. Straying from the assignment will run into overtime and make you reluctant to return to your history!
• List the organizations you joined as a child - Primary, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy scouts. Did you play the tuba in a marching band?
• List important Church dates, such as your baptism and other ordinances, and your Church callings.
• List the date, location and other significant details of your marriage. Then list your children and their birth dates. Mention important changes in your family - - a child's marriage, deaths, divorces, moves and jobs. Remember, keep to the bare bones of your life. You only have one hour so stick to the facts.Describe how you have spent your adult life - at work, at home, and so forth.

You're done!
Make a clean copy of your work. Use page protectors and insert it into a folder or a binder. The binder will make it easy to add material later on. Keep this history with your baby book and journal. Continue to write in your journal. Your one-hour life history will be a fair representation of your life. You never have to worry about writing your life history again if you don't want to.

Picture from Rose Briar.