The Memoirs of Joanne K. Hill

Finding the Blessings in Memories
Copyright by Joanne K. Hill

All Rights Reserved

Memories. Some good. Some not so good. Yet, they are a vital part of our lives, for they teach, support and often, console us. Memories passed from generation to generation become connectors to our ancestry. In these stories we find clues to who we are, sometimes, to why we are as we are. Family histories often turn up many surprises.

Writing your memoirs is a project sometimes begun as a child, through journaling. Didn’t journal? Don’t worry, those memories are tucked in that incredible computer brain of yours and can be accessed through various exercises, questions and the swapping of stories with family and friends.

When my Dad started to write his memoirs, something he’d always dreamed of doing, I was the lucky one to assist him. He had the stories, I had the computer. His book, The Way It Was . . . As I Recall, gave our family a glimpse into his childhood as well as some insight into another side of Dad.

When he began writing his book, we were unaware that Mom was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. As the disease progressed, Mom needed more attention and Dad laid his book aside. When I offered to type the manuscript for him, he decided to give the book another go. This turned out to be a blessing for both of us. As Dad resurrected memories from his past, giving him some respite from Mom’s condition, our working together on the production and publication made a treasured memory for me.

Like most people, Dad’s life wasn’t always easy. The Great Depression ruled out his dream of going to college, but his height (6’ 5”), opened the door for a law enforcement career. Dad married his high school sweetheart. Shortly after the wedding, the young couple learned that she had a severe heart problem. She died four years later. They had no children.

Three years after Alice’s death, Dad married my mother and became an instant father of three. Five months later he was drafted into the service for W.W.II. Yet, he chose to write about only his “happy hours.”

I have since helped my husband’s Aunt Ruth to write some of her stories. Like Dad, Ruth chose to focus only on her happy memories of childhood. (See Remember the Happy Times in Books).

Does that mean you don’t put in anything sad into a memoir? No. In fact, some memoirs focus on the unhappy times, often with purpose of telling how one overcame personal problems. Although Rainbow Remedies for Life’s Stormy Times is not a memoir, I have shared many stories of my own life (happy and sad) to illustrate how I used the seven Rainbow Remedies to find and create happy hours.

At a seminar I recently taught on self-publishing memoir books, one man shared that through helping his dad write his story, he came to see a different man than the father he’d remembered. Sometimes, getting to know the background of a person helps us to understand why he or she was or is the way they are, often leading to forgiveness and a closer bond. The seminar participant said, “It was an enlightening experience for me. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity.”

Whether you are writing for your family, or helping someone else write their stories, you will find that your own life will be blessed in the process. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Now is the time to get started in hooking into the past for those who will live in the future.

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