So not only did you teach me about writing memoir, you also taught me about reading and thinking about how others write memoir. Thank you so much! Rebecca

Accepting what is to come

You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
Showing posts with label Laura Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laura Bush. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Memoir by Laura Bush impressed her daughters


Today I saw Laura Bush give an interview on television. I always admired her – the way she handled herself as first lady. Her daughters were on with her today, and they are certainly attractive and intelligent women.

Laura has written a memoir about her life and I want to read it. I am not a member of her husband’s party, but Laura seems to be a woman I’d enjoy knowing.

I was impressed when one of her girls said she had been reading the book and sobbed through most of it. She learned much about her grandparents that she did not know and she also learned much about her own mother who had not shared the details of her childhood.

This is why we should write about our lives for our children and grandchildren. We might think they have heard us tell our stories, but many times, the kids aren’t listening as carefully as we think.

Would your children cry if they read in your words what life was like at your house when you were five or ten years old. Would they see the image of you as a little girl or a little boy in clothes you wore back in the fifties or sixties?
If you write the story about an incident that made a big impression on your life and how you raised your kids, would your child cry or smile or have an Aha moment?

Laura Bush caused the death of a good friend in a car accident when she was seventeen. Her parents didn’t let her go to talk with the parents of her friend or even attend the funeral. They wanted to protect her. That event has been on her mind all these years and it had an affect on how she taught her children to face death of a friend or loved one.

All our lifetime experiences affect our future relationships and behaviors. As I have said before, we are a product of what has been written on our walls.

Are you writing about your life for your family? Just write a few pages each day and your family will cherish them when you are no longer here to tell the stories. How have events in your childhood contributed to your method of parenting or grand parenting?