Should you write your Life Story, and if so, when?
Twelve of us celebrated my 80th birthday last Saturday at a special lunch in a beautiful seaside setting. Everyone knew at least one other person and me beforehand, but otherwise they were strangers to one another.
I had decided that since I could only ask so few, these people should not only be special friends but also represent different stages of my life. So, partly because I wanted to record my life’s journey to date and partly because I wanted my guests to understand how they each fitted into my life before they met for lunch, I created a video (voice-over and photos).
Prior to this, my daughter Alexia and I had discussed the idea of recording and celebrating our life stories before we die! In any case, unless we write a huge book, our story will only be a mere glimpse of the whole.
How I approached writing my story
I started by hunting through photographs in cupboards and on my computer. I haven’t bothered to organize my photos, and I regret this! There are also many parts of my life that aren’t recorded in photos (at least by me), and I regret this. Nevertheless, many of the milestones were recorded in some form, and I was able to put them together as a story. I apologize to the many people who should have been included but were not. Some of the photos – as the one below – are very old and a bit scratched!
This process was quite exhausting, and I initially hoped I could just use photos? I investigated using an online system to create a ‘voice-over,’ but this sounded false and impersonal. The only solution I could find was to create my own voice-over, and although it isn’t perfect, I suspect that the imperfections make it more real?
How it helped the birthday party
I asked all the party guests to watch the video before our lunch, which meant they not only knew how they had all become my friends but were also reminded of many forgotten events. It wasn’t surprising that there were many forgotten events since I had known one of them since I was five years old and most of the others for more than 50 years!
How recording my story has helped me
I didn’t expect this to happen but writing my story has given me a sense of ‘release’. I feel as if I can move forward to a new phase of my life. At 80, that probably doesn’t mean that I will be embarking on great adventures, but who knows where I might go and what I might do?
I should assure you that I hadn’t ever thought that my past was holding me back, and I certainly didn’t focus on previous negatives. Perhaps it’s just an unrecognized sense of having had too much to hold onto, and now that it’s recorded, there’s a new sense of space?
What does my future hold? I’m quite excited to find out! But I suggest that if you, too, are approaching some milestone in your life, that you record it so that it isn’t lost or forgotten
If you would like to watch the video, you will find it on the front page of my website https://www.drjudyford.com