Heirloom Bios

02/07/2019

Great article for the questions we should all be asking and answering ourselves and for loved ones.

Mary Schmich: You can create your mini-autobiography by answering this short set of questions.

07/03/2018

Priceless footage and so well preserved. Imagine having this historical footage of your ancestors! So much to be gleaned. Now imagine doing this for your family and being able to share your story with generations to come. You can't take it with you, but you can leave your legacy. That's what personal biographers do, like me!

‘I hope, ladies and gentlemen, you have seen me and you have also heard me.’The iconic Fox Movietone News, which ran in the United States from 1927 to 1963, was one of the first newsreels to marry moving pictures and sound. Pieced together from Movietone News footage made available by the Moving...

08/01/2018

Must find a venue showing this film. What a great idea to promote community spirit.

Opening select theaters beginning October 6. 89-year old Agnes Varda, one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, and acclaimed 33 year-old French pho...

23/11/2017

Turning shame into responsibility freed one woman from the terrible burden of her legacy. Poignant story.

17/05/2017

Preserving memories can also preserve wealth!

By gifting a biography project, adult children can celebrate the contributions of and bear witness to the sacrifices made by their aging parents, thereby defining their family’s legacy for generations to come.

03/05/2017

Long overdue in North America, especially since the Netherlands proved the success of "dementia" villages years ago and provided the blueprint for humane and dignified treatment of our Seniors facing memory challenges. Plus it's another way to preserve a bit of history for the younger generations to come. May this proliferate in abundance.

The goal is to take people with dementia back to a time when they didn't feel so lost

09/12/2016

"...reminiscing can improve the confidence of older adults. By recalling how they overcame past struggles, they are better able to confront new challenges, doctors say, and they may be able to forgive themselves for their mistakes. Moreover, a life review can help with grieving, research has found."

Personal histories matter for everyone.

Some take life-story writing classes, while others hire “personal historians” to record oral histories or to produce videos that combine interviews, home movies and family photos.

21/09/2016

A blog I wrote for the Association for Personal Historians... about the validity of preserving your life story even if you don't have children...

Childless Matters By Janice Jacobs | September 21, 2016 0 Comment Quite simply, childless lives matter. And they should matter to personal historians and biographers. Okay, so not every woman who either chooses not to have children, or didn’t or couldn’t, is an “Oprah” with a sweeping saga that coul...

13/09/2016

Set your PVRs/DVRs for this one - 10 years in the making. Should be wonderful!

DEFYING THE N***S: THE SHARPS’ WAR, a new documentary co-directed by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky about a little-known but important mission by an American minister and his wife to rescue refugees and dissidents in Europe before and after the start of World War II, will air on September 20 at 9 p...

01/09/2016

Being a Personal Historian is a natural choice for my career path, combining my passion for life stories and documentaries with experience in filmmaking, and it's getting more attention and validation everyday. Let me know if you'd be interested in preserving your journey because we are our stories.

Personal historians make a business of helping people chronicle the events of their lives in memoirs.