The image in my mind is of my sitting in an Evansville, Indiana coffee shop with my MacBook Air paging through dozens of family photos while also editing my mother’s manuscript of her life story. This was exactly a year ago — putting the finishing touches on what would become one of the more rewarding writing projects I’ve been part of.

I helped as my 90-year-old mother, Sue, wrote her memoir. (She’ll be 92 in February.)

The idea crystallized in late 2022. “Mom,” I said, “What if you were to write your about life.” At first, she had the same reaction many people might: “Who’d want to read about my ordinary life?”

I had found Storyworth, an online service that makes memoir-writing manageable by breaking it into smaller pieces. Each month, Mom would receive an email with a question: “What was your father like when you were growing up?” or, “Where did your family go on vacations when you were young?” 

To her credit, she said, “Let’s do it.”

What emerged over email, texts and phone conversations with her over the next eleven months was a fascinating glimpse into ten decades through the eyes of a woman who grew up in the 1940s, married in the 1950s, raised a family and relocated in the 1960s and built a home, survived two husbands and in the process has lived a rich and fulfilling, life with a network of terrific friends.

On my end, the process revealed stories I’d never heard before, especially from her high school and childhood years. As her editor, I worked to preserve Mom’s voice while at the same time gently toning down some of her trademark phrases like “very special” and “wonderful” (which she sprinkled throughout the text like literary confetti). It was a fun challenge to stay inobtrusive while also balancing her natural personality with focused descriptions.

The reward for me came during a long, late-October visit to our hometown, when we sat together and pored over her photos. It’s tough to narrow all that living to just about 25 images. We had a lot of fun together reviewing (and it was a challenge to cull) visual “evidence” and then ordering the final-cut images next to the stories she’d written. The process took a couple of days during which I digitized color versions at a local FedEx Store.

After returning to Texas, I “locked in” the final text, imagery and design elements, and ordered a couple dozen copies to be mailed to family and friends during the 2023 holiday season.

Mom’s excellent memory, enthusiasm and attention to detail turned out to be the book project’s secret. Even through her tendency to describe everything as “thrilling,” she captured her daily life and vivid tales with remarkable clarity.

What I didn’t anticipate was how much enjoyment Mom would get from the feedback from relatives.

She’s now on the record with some family history that would otherwise exist only in fragments of half-remembered conversations and stories that would typically fade in our memories.

The technology available now — from the structured writing prompts we created, to quick-turn, on-demand printing — makes an effort like this one straightforward and achievable. If you’re considering asking a parent to do something like it, go for it. Start now while the memories are strong and the storytellers willing and able.