As the light shines on the worn boards I wonder who built this house, who lived in it, what were their hopes? Their loves?
Light on Quiet Old Boards
Shaw TV Interview – How I became the Life Story Writer
There is no greater gift than sharing the experiences and wisdom of a lifetime with family and friends. How do family members know who they are if they don’t know where they came from – their roots? But the challenge is in getting started.
In his book On Writing Well author William Zinsser said:
One of the saddest sentences I know is “I wish I would have asked my mother about that. Or my father. Or my grandmother, or grandfather”…
It is sometimes difficult to write about yourself in a detached manner that provides an interesting read for others. Many people put off this activity and never find the time. With some encouragement and a good guide, however, it can be a pleasant, rewarding journey to tell your own unique story.
I live on Southern Vancouver Island and can travel to record your memories of past events and the people who have made your life special. In the comfort of your home this process will be relaxing and enjoyable. It will no doubt be fun too. We will add photos and special documents if applicable, and then we will have your story professionally printed. What a gift – for you, your family, the next generations, and friends – can you imagine holding the book in your hands, seeing it on your coffee table, in your bookcase, reading stories to your grandchildren? It will be much cherished.
How often have you wished that your forebears had left written stories of their lives? A family tree may appeal to some, and facts may appeal to others, but stories are how we get to know people and the times in which they lived.
You may not think you have led an exceptional life, but I am sure that through this process, you will end up thinking otherwise. You will have fun, perhaps shed some tears, and remember details you may have forgotten, but overall, you will be thankful that you made this journey into your past. It will be the creation of a special legacy for your sons and daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren, or friends; they will be so grateful that your stories are preserved. Don’t wait – give me a call and let’s get started.
Family and Friends
If you are a family member or friend, here’s the most special gift you will ever find for your loved one. Give the gift of a life story book to a beloved parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or friend.
Retirement Gift
A book of photos and stories from coworkers makes an amazing and unique retirement gift.
Your Company History
Make it work for you! A short publication packed with personal anecdotes and interesting photographs can be an ideal gift for clients, and a wonderful coffee table book in your office. Highlighting projects and giving clients the opportunity to learn more about the special people who work on them can be a determining factor in developing trust. Posting the business memoir to your website will make your company stand out from all the rest!
Greater depths in the Life Around Us
I was on a photo shoot and busy focusing on something else when this river otter came swimming by. It was there, and then it was gone. It makes me think about how easy it is to miss out on the cool things that are going on around us in the people we know, and […]
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
A lovely song for a rainy Monday morning Eva Cassidy’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There’s a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true. Someday I’ll […]
Look for the light
The thing about shadows is that they’re not all darkness. You need to have light to have shadows. So just look for it.” ― A. Meredith Walters, Light in the Shadows Photo of delphinium © Janice Henshaw 2015
Change – from one moment to the next
“The rhodo’s beauty stops me, dissolves my worry replaces it with hope.” Photograph Janice Henshaw © 2014
Be Gentle With Yourself
Be gentle with yourself You’re doing the best that you can. And so is your friend, your sister, your children, your co-workers, and all those other people… Photo © Janice Henshaw 2015
Why bad things happen to good people?
“Is there an answer to the question of why bad things happen to good people?…The response would be…to forgive the world for not being perfect, to forgive God for not making a better world, to reach out to the people around us, and to go on living despite it all…no longer asking why something happened, […]
Fog and getting out of bed
Yesterday morning my alarm woke me and my first thought was to pick it up and heave it across the room. But I remembered in that infinitesimal nanosecond of time that my little Iphone is actually pretty handy, and the bureaucratic hassles of getting a new one are most decidedly not worth one moment of […]
Choices
“Alice came to a fork in the road. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ responded the Cheshire Cat. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the Cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Many years ago, when I was young and thought I knew just […]
“Life will go on but never be the same…”
My February article in Seaside Magazine is available at this link: http://seasidemagazine.ca/ The article is called “Life will go on but will Never be the Same.” “Your heart, beating away – counted upon, mostly ignored, often short on maintenance – until one day, it falters, and your whole life changes…” *Photograph courtesy of http://www.nuttycake.com/
To See All That Is Beautiful
Depending on our nature, it may come easily to see and talk about all that is negative in our world. The trick is to put effort into seeing the good – in people, and in everyday moments. To see and remember, and cherish, All that is beautiful. ~Janice Henshaw Photo © Janice Henshaw 2017
Nature’s Show
“Practicing gratitude is a very powerful tool to shift your attention on the things you don’t have to the things you do have and this alone will make you feel better.” Noelia Aanulds, Happiness: Learn How To Be Happy And Boost Your Life When I was taking photos of fall leaves at the rec center, […]
Stop and smell the roses
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Epictetus quote Oh, the angst on hearing the news it settles upon us like a dark heavy cloud and for awhile it’s hard to think of anything else. But as time passes […]
Planning a Happy Life?
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein Photograph © Janice Henshaw 2015
Grey beauty of our Pacific Coast
The dark grey beauty of our winter coast – makes us who we are… Photo © Janice Henshaw 2016
Obatanga Provincial Park Aug. 17, 2012 (247 km)
A little boy snagged his lure (a plastic pretend lure) in the high branches of a tree at my campsite early this morning so I helped him to get it down by putting pressure on the lure from another direction. I talked to the little boy and his sister and they told me that their […]
“This very moment is the perfect teacher…”
“Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with […]
Being happy – such a gift
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.” Robert Louis Stevenson It’s so easy to be unhappy… and there are so many reasons that can be marshalled to justify such a demeanor. But oh, what a gift to be […]
“What an astonishing thing a book is.”
“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly […]