You don’t need to be a “senior,” or even close, to make use of and enjoy Exploring Our Lives: A Writing Handbook for Senior Adults by Francis E. Kazemek. As the title suggests, this book is designed to help people write their own life stories. Perhaps Francis simply feels that being a “senior” simply means having enough experience to have enough to say, even if the person doesn’t believe it themselves. That said, this book is unique.
There are many books about the subject, and many follow the same pattern and offer roughly the same advice. Exploring Our Lives takes a different approach. In addition to offering some the typical topics and basic writing concepts this book also offers unique approaches to seeing our own lives in different ways and explorers different writing styles in which to express one’s memories and feelings. In these pages, Kazemek covers more than the typical narrative, additional styles are explored, such as poetry and fiction for sharing memories. The author comments:
“In over twenty years of conducting writing workshops with Seniors, I have found again and again that people who are convinced they can write only biographical stories in prose are surprised and excited at their latent ability to write poetry, fictional short stories, and children’s books.”
This books helps the reader look at their lives from different angles. Considering alternative writing methods, such as poetry, short stories, and others, helps promote stimulate the creative side of the brain and helps the reader take a look at their own lives from those alternate angles. Each chapter reviews a different type of writing, along with tools for reviewing and editing one’s writing. Mixed in are the memory recall guides and topic suggestions found in many other books; but still, with the author’s own twist. These, of course, help round out this book, making it a complete guide to memoir writing.
Contents
Introduction: Honoring Memory
Chapter One: Getting Started
Chapter Two: Writing & Writers
Chapter Three: Remembering Our Live
Chapter Four: Writing about Memorable People
Chapter Five: Form Poetry
Chapter Six: Writing Our Lives
Interlude: Fathers and Sons
Chapter Seven: Photographs and Writing
Chapter Eight: Free Poetry
Chapter Nine: Fiction
Chapter Ten: Children’s Picture Books
Chapter Eleven: Diaries & Dream Journals
Chapter Twelve: Writing Groups and Writing Resources
Coda: Living with Grace, Force, and Fascination
Find new ways to share your memories in Exploring Our Lives: A Writing Handbook for Senior Adults, available at Family Roots Publishing; Item #: SM264, Price: $14.65.