Post #60 – Women’s Memoirs, News – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Asking for Details Before It is Too Late
Kendra and I talk every day. Most of our conversations focus on memoir writing, but sometimes we veer toward other topics. One that comes up fairly often centers around things we wished we had asked our parents but didn’t think to until it was too late. We thought it might be helpful to put together a list of questions we wish we had asked our parents or grandparents. Such a list would help others document family stories before the story is lost forever.
We have a list that we are developing. It’s one of those things where you can’t just sit down and write 100 items. They occur to us at odd moments — often when we’re talking about something that a mother or father did once upon a time. Kendra has a fragment of a story that she calls “Who Killed Rosemary?” It’s a cute, funny story but details are missing and Kendra has no way of ever reconstructing it.
Here’s Where You Can Help Women’s Memoirs
Have you ever wished you knew something about a parent or grandparent that you can no longer ask? If so, send us your question or other details. We’ll add your question to our list. Then when we get enough, we’ll share our list with everyone so that we answer these questions for our own children and grandchildren. Here are several examples from our list:
1. How did my parents meet?
2. When did they know they were in love?
3. Where did my father propose? Was he nervous? What was he wearing? What kind of ring did he give my mother?
4. What was a typical breakfast that my mother ate when she was small?
5. What were the chores that my father did on Saturdays?
Help Put a Stop to Unanswered Questions.
You can either put your question in the comment section below or send it directly to: matilda (@) womensmemoirs DOT com.
