Your family will want to know about your whole life, not only the latter years. Assumptions are made but we know that over a full life all is not what it seems. There are untold stories, a hidden life of who we were and how it had been. If we want anyone to know our full story, we must tell them.

We all tend to reflect at key events in our lives. On retirement. On the birth of a grandchild. Sadly, on the loss of a loved one. People I’ve written for have told me that they regretted not knowing more about their parents’ lives and usually their grandparents’ lives; even their uncles and aunts…the people they’ve cared for. It’s this latent wanting to know that’s made genealogy so popular. 

They have realised that they knew too little about their close family, and they wished they’d asked more questions when they had the opportunity, and paid more attention when they were in conversation. 

Some cultures rely on this word of mouth passing down of their stories and histories to their descendants. Imagine how much easier this will be for your descendants in the knowledge of, or even with the surprise discovery of, your manuscript.

Your family may be too young or too busy to show interest in listening now. They will be more interested than you think and, when the time is right for them, they will thank you for the time you’ve taken to capture your lifetime memories for them to read.

Admittedly, some memories are not easy to talk about. We avoid deep conversations even with those close to us. There are sensitivities and emotions to consider particularly if events are recent or still raw. Your memoir can ignore this. However, reference to these events have proven to be cathartic - I know, I've written mine.