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13 minute read
Sharing your life story is one of the most impactful and personal ways to leave a lasting legacy. Whether you are writing for yourself, your loved ones, or to inspire others, putting your story into words can be a deeply fulfilling experience. For those looking back on a life well-lived, or those nearing the end of life, this process can provide clarity, emotional relief, and a sense of accomplishment.
You may wonder how to begin such a daunting project as distilling a lifetime of memories into a single story. This article will walk you through why and how to share your life story, offering practical advice and creative suggestions along the way.
We also just wanted to say that, whatever has brought you here – whether you have recently lost someone, or feel you may be about to, or if you are nearing the end of your life and want to tell your life story – we recognise the complexity of the situation you are in. You’re in the right place, and we can help you to tell your life story, and even to arrange a funeral, if needed, either at short-notice, or as part of a prepaid funeral plan for the future.
Everyone has a different motivation for sharing their life story. For some, it may offer a chance to reflect on their journey so far, while creating a meaningful gift for future generations. For others, it is an enjoyable yet challenging exercise in recalling memories and crafting a narrative. It can also provide a lasting opportunity for remembering a loved one when they’re no longer here.
Telling your life story can be an emotionally enriching experience. In fact, evidence suggests that autobiographical storytelling can bring many benefits to your health and wellbeing, and even increase your resilience and self-esteem. It can help you process your past, celebrate achievements and acknowledge the challenges you’ve overcome. For some people, it can help them to approach the trickier task of talking about death and dying with the ones they love, as it can aid in them accepting the fact that they are coming to the end of their life.
Sharing can also be therapeutic, whether or not you may be dying, as it can provide closure on unresolved issues as you prepare for the next stage of your life. Furthermore, it can give your loved ones a deeper understanding of who you are and where they come from.
Sharing your life story is not just important for any legacies and memorials, but it can also profoundly affect other people in your life. When shared with family members, it can strengthen connections, fostering a sense of belonging. When shared more broadly, your experiences may help others to navigate their own lives and unique challenges.
Stories of resilience, love, and loss, can inspire others and remind them that they are not alone. Even if you feel like your own experience isn’t worth sharing, you would likely be surprised by the depth of connection you can reach by telling your personal story. Words have the ability to touch and heal people, and your story matters.
One of the joys of storytelling is the limitless freedom and creativity you have whilst putting it together. You can craft your story into something just as unique as you are, whether you’re writing a memoir or autobiography.
Memoirs and autobiographies are two of the most popular formats for life stories, but their goals differ. An autobiography covers an entire lifespan in chronological order, offering a comprehensive overview of experiences. It usually focusses on facts, milestones, and significant achievements, giving a full portrait of the author’s life.
A memoir, in contrast, focusses on specific themes or moments, providing a more intimate account. It emphasises personal experiences, emotions, and reflections rather than covering the entire life story. Memoirs are often more subjective, focusing on how the writer felt during particular moments or phases of their life, and tend to be more selective in the details they include. If you wish to dive into key turning points or specific periods of your life, a memoir may be the ideal format for you. If a more straightforward approach is your style, then perhaps an autobiography would be best.
If neither a memoir or autobiography strike a chord, then perhaps a more unconventional approach is for you. It’s really up to you how you choose to relay your life story.
There are numerous ways to share your life story, from traditional writing formats to audio and video, to modern, digital platforms. Understanding the differences between these options will help you decide which style best suits you, your story and your audience.
If you like a classic approach, you may offer your life story by writing it out and binding it into a book, or a series of booklets. You may even decide you’d like your story to be handwritten or typed on a typewriter, like a personal diary or journal.
In today’s digital age, there are many creative ways to share your story online. Blogs allow you to share your life in instalments, making it accessible to a wide audience. Videos and podcasts provide an engaging, personal touch, as viewers and listeners can hear your voice and see your expressions, creating a more intimate connection.
These formats may appeal if you prefer speaking over writing, or want to reach people across different social platforms. You don’t necessarily have to share your story with a wider audience, either; opting to create a handful of personal videos or audio recordings for a select few is a perfectly reasonable option.
If you’re unsure of where to begin, there’s no shortage of inspiration from the stories of other people. Drawing inspiration from other storytellers can help you structure your own narrative and ignite your creativity.
Listening to others who have already shared their life stories can provide both guidance and inspiration. Whether through podcasts, interviews, or storytelling events, hearing how others frame their experiences can spark your own ideas. You might find that their courage to open up about their personal lives helps you to do the same.
Do you have a favourite artist or public figure? If you need some inspiration, reading well-known memoirs or autobiographies can help you to share your narrative. These larger-than-life characters have left behind compelling and complex stories that blend personal experience with universal truths. By studying their writing, you can begin to grasp how to tackle multifaceted subjects such as love, loss, and identity in ways that resonate with readers.
Before diving into writing, some preparation can make the process smoother and more fulfilling. Identifying your audience and outlining your story will ensure that your narrative flows logically and effectively captures your life’s essence.
Consider who you are writing for. Is this story primarily for you? Are you writing for family members, perhaps to pass down lessons and memories to the next generation? Knowing your audience will influence your tone and the level of detail you include. If you’re writing for a broader audience, such as for publication or to help others through difficult experiences, you may wish to focus more on universal themes.
Every life has key moments that shape who we are. These could be personal achievements, major life changes, or profound challenges. It may help to outline them to create a rough map of your story. Highlight turning points, such as moving to a new country, getting married, overcoming an illness, or losing a loved one. These pivotal stages could form your narrative’s backbone, helping you decide which parts of your life to explore in greater depth. Think about what you would want as a reader, and let that be your guide.
Aura’s founder, Paul Jameson, wrote his own memoir, Very Much Alive, following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease. His experience with a terminal illness made him want to record his life story, as well as what he has learned about in dealing with the disease.
When you’re ready to write, breaking your story into smaller sections or ‘chapters’ can make the process less daunting. Focus on the details that make your experiences unique, while varying your writing style to keep your reader engaged. If you’re going for a less structured and more free-flowing feeling, you may begin by simply writing from the heart, using techniques such as freewriting, or ‘stream of consciousness’ writing.
Think about the most natural way for you to write your story. Are you more comfortable with a pen and pad, or typing on a laptop? Would you like to dictate your story into a recorder and transcribe it later? You may even wish to have a friend or loved one sit with you and assist in getting the details down. Some people like to use the services of a good death doula to help them open up conversations about dying with their families, and to help them complete legacy projects like telling their life story.
What makes your life story truly yours are the small, clear details and accounts. Recall your senses: What did it smell like in your father’s tool shed? What did your grandmother’s cooking taste like? What was the make, model, and colour of your first car? These personal touches will bring your story to life and help readers connect with your experiences.
It might feel fun and exciting to explore different writing styles to see what fits your story best. You may prefer a direct, formal tone, or you might lean towards a conversational storytelling style. Using metaphors, humour, or poignant reflections can add depth and emotion. Remember that there is no ‘right’ way to write your story – it’s all about finding your authentic voice.
Adding memorabilia such as personal photos, letters, drawings or journal entries can enrich your life story, making it all the more moving for your audience. Similarly, if you are telling your story with audio, you could include sound clips of your own voice or of the world around you to really aid in bringing your story to life in listeners’ imaginations.
Photos can be a powerful way to complement your words. Consider including pictures from significant moments in your life, such as when you went on a pivotal trip or received an award. Visual aids not only add interest but also help your readers better understand your story’s context. You might also include scanned copies of important documents like letters or certificates, which provide tangible links to the past.
If you’ve kept personal letters or journals, these can offer direct insights into your past thoughts and emotions. Including excerpts can add depth to your story, giving readers a more intimate view of your life.
If you’ve gone for a more modern format for your life story, you might be wondering how to include extra material, bringing it more to life. Adding in additional clips from old home videos is a great way to fill in and enrich your narrative.
Similarly, adding audio clips or field recordings, like phone calls, church bells, or a child’s babbling, adds depth and emotion to your audio. You are building a world for your audience to lose itself within.
Once your story is written or recorded, sharing it is your next step. Whether you choose traditional publishing methods, an intimate family gathering or online platforms, there are plenty of ways to ensure your story reaches the intended audience.
Consider the ideal platform for sharing your life story. If you want to reach a large audience, self-publishing your memoir to online platforms is a great option. Alternatively, if your story is intended for close family and friends, you could print a few copies privately and distribute them to whoever you want.
If you’ve gone for an audio or video recording, you could create personalised USB drives or CDs, or perhaps make a unique web page for your project. Alternatively, if your plan is to share it with your family, perhaps as a surprise after you’re gone, you could arrange for it to be shown at your end-of-life celebration, helping them to bid farewell to you more meaningfully. Try brainstorming all of the ways you can imagine sharing your story and pick the one that seems best to you.
If you’d like to publish your story, there are multiple ways to do so. Self-publishing offers control and flexibility, allowing you to publish your story at your own pace. Traditional publishing, while more challenging to break into, can provide a wider audience and the support of professional editors. Weigh the pros and cons of each to decide which option is best for you.
Sharing your life story is a precious gift to yourself and to others. By reflecting on your past, documenting your experiences, and choosing the right format and platform, you can ensure your story is told in the way you wish, and it can even help both you and your loved ones to come to terms with your mortality. You are sure to leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
We hope that this article has given you some ideas and that it’s been useful. If any questions have arisen through what we’ve written, whether about telling your life story, planning your legacy, or remembering a loved one with your family, we are here to help you and point you in the right direction. Aura has its own life-story telling platform called the Aura Circle which allows you to add photos and videos digitally whilst telling your life story. You can even share it with the ones you love.
If you’re looking beyond sharing your life story or the life story of a loved one who may have recently passed away, our direct cremation services are available to you. Our direct cremation services are open to both those needing to sort out something at short notice, as well as to those thinking ahead with a prepaid funeral plan. Either way, it’s our wonderful, caring Aura Angels who’ll guide you or your family by the hand through the difficult job of funeral arranging for you or someone dear to you. They’re not only funeral-arranging experts, but they can listen to you if you need to talk about what you’ve been going through.
We’re there for you on the phone, whenever you’re ready.
