Recording Our Lives - A Guide for You and Your Family’
Published 2001Our Lives by Rona Goold
ACCN thanks Lynda for preparing this Book Review
Book Review by Lynda Ord Civil Celebrant
South Coast NSW
Amongst the things I find most rewarding as a celebrant, particularly when I’m leading naming and celebration of life services, are the remarkable stories of people’s lives that I’m privileged to hear.
 I became quite concerned that a lot of these stories are being lost to us and so I put together a simple presentation on family stories called ‘Tell Me a Story’. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to share this presentation with a number of groups like Probus Clubs, View Clubs, CWA groups and anyone else who cares to listen.
I turn up with lots of resources to share with people but the book I find most useful in helping to people to start on this journey is a great publication written by our own Rona Good called ‘Recording Our Lives – A Guide for You and Your Family’.
In this book Rona gently debunks some of the excuses we all make when we think about recording our stories and then she leads the reader through five different approaches to recording their life experiences. The approaches – periods of time, time line, major areas of a person’s life, theme and photographic journey – are supported with clear instructions, interesting tips and hints, and very useful and reusable templates to gather your information.
This book really gives you food for thought. Are you able to describe the ten most important things in your life? When you look back at old photos what was it you valued most at that time of your life?
These are the sorts of questions we often don’t take the time to ask ourselves and the answers can be quite revealing. With Rona’s book to guide you this can be quite an extraordinary journey.
 At the end of the book Rona also gives us some useful advice about how to create milestone ceremonies and she shares with us the remarkable story of her mother Elva in a sample ceremony for a birthday celebration.
I’ve given quite a few copies of this book as gifts, sold quite a few to interested people and I always donate a copy to the group I’m speaking to as a raffle prize or lucky door prize and I know they are always appreciated.
As celebrants we often influence people in ways we hadn’t thought about. I know that there are a few people who’ve listened to eulogies I’ve delivered and told me that they intend to start capturing their own story before it is too late.
‘Recording Our Lives’ is a good way for you to help them and also a great way for you to start recording your story too for as Chuck Palahniuk once said “There is always a chance that you could die in the middle of your life story.!"
Note: Front cover is Rona's Mum and Dad taking a breather at the Trocadero Ballroom in 1939
|
