Michelle Beckman 
5 SIMPLE WAYS TO HONOR YOUR FAMILY HISTORY A Labor of Love “Aw, remember that one? Remember when we went camping, and it rained for ten days? I remember we had to sleep in the car!” “Look how cute she was!” Followed immediately with, “Actually, how cute she still is.” Sigh. “I loved that dress …
WHAT ABOUT THE STUFF? Hurricane Harvey At the beginning of a crisis like Hurricane Harvey, everyone involved rightfully focuses on the only priority—saving lives. But, when the water recedes, residents and business owners assess the damage and cannot ignore the inevitable. Items that proved useful and necessary for daily living are gone, as are many …
STORIES REMIND US OF OUR HUMANITY Humans Helping Humans Stories of humans helping humans have brought me to tears more than once this week. What is it about acts of kindness, courage, or unselfishness that evoke such profound emotion? Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas has brought much of our country back to basics. As we …
I HAVEN’T HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE Deeper Connections Whether you see your parents and grandparents every day or talk to them once a month, I guarantee they have a story you haven’t heard yet. Sometimes, you know the story exists. These stories are often traumatic such as living through the Holocaust, fighting in a war, …
100+ WAYS TO MAKE FUN-IN-THE-SUN MEMORIES Life Used to Be Simpler “I’m bored,” Have you heard that one yet? The summer has just started, but I already feel like I am our family’s entertainment director and taxi driver. Life was so much simpler when we were kids, don’t you think? We made our own fun. …
Subscribe Now 4 EDITING HACKS I LEARNED FROM STEPHEN KING Editing for Your Audience Let’s be honest. The editing process is not as fun as the initial storytelling process. Editing requires that you read your writing with fresh eyes, pull out your red pen machete, and start hacking away at superfluous details, tangents, and parts …
Subscribe Now 9 THRILLING MEMOIR TIPS I LEARNED FROM STEPHEN KING What We Can Learn from Novel Writers I don’t read many thrillers, but I have seen a few Stephen King movies. I remember how Misery made my ankles hurt and The Green Mile made me cry. Perhaps my favorite Stephen King story, however, is …
DO YOU SAY, “THANK YOU AND WELCOME HOME” OFTEN ENOUGH? Thank You for Your Service and Welcome Home A few years ago I attended a presentation by a personal history colleague and mentor Mary O’Brien-Tyrrell. She served in Vietnam as a nurse, and during her talk, she described the mood of the country when she …
4 TIPS TO RECALL IT ALL Don’t Jump to Conclusions Do you ever find yourself walking into a room only to forget why you made the effort? Do you forget someone’s name, even though you know the person well? Are there days when you fear you’ll forget to pick your child up from an activity? …
YOUR MOTHER’S STORY IS AS ORDINARY AS SEA GLASS A humble gem My cousin collects sea glass—shards of ordinary glass bottles discarded without a thought that eventually wash up on shore. The waves and glass wrestle in the world’s infinite rock tumbler. Eventually, the glass submits and a polite dance begins—back and forth, back and …