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Kicking off the conference last Friday night with an instructor dinner Last Saturday, I enjoyed the company of 350 people eager to research and write their family stories at the 21st Annual Central Florida Family History Conference. I gave four workshops alongside many other fabulous speakers. I enjoyed meeting all of those who came to one…

The 21st Central Florida Family History Conference in Orlando is this weekend, and I am excited. I haven't spoken at this event before, and here I am with four workshops to present. In last week's newsletter, I wrote about the first two workshops on Saturday morning. This week, I wanted to tell you about the two afternoon workshops…

The Elements of Style is a tiny manual you can turn to when you need to know the proper use of the semicolon, remind yourself of some commonly misused words and expressions, or how to appropriately utilize a colloquialism. It is the only style manual to ever appear on bestseller lists and has explained to millions…

I'm sure you are familiar with one of my favorite authors, E.B. White, thanks to his classic children’s stories, Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan. You may not know, however, that he wrote many beautiful essays that have been compiled in The Essays of E.B. White.  I particularly love two of the…

At this time of year, the jack o’ lanterns are out on front stoops, facial features aglow with dancing light from their inner candles. I recently heard an Albert Schweitzer quote that made me think of this jack o’ lantern image as we approach Halloween. It’s a beautiful sentiment that also leads us into November,…

'Tis the season for ghost stories, so I thought I'd give you a list of ghost story suggestions, but with a memoir twist. Have you read any of these? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. This Halloween week, maybe you should pick up the Oprah.com editor's pick Ghost Songs: A Memoir by Regina…

After a drought of more than two years of not teaching ongoing, in-person classes, I am so happy to welcome these six women to the first class held in a room designed and decorated for group writing events. Left to right: Beverly Bailey, Amanda Benson, Becky McGregor, Barbara Rawls, Cheryl Floyd, and Diane Gosheff Most are wonderfully…

I hope you are feeling inspired to either begin exploring and writing your family stories, or continue with renewed vigor, the stories you've already begun. As you know, I love memoir and have already shared with you one book suggestion, I Love Gootie. I thought I'd share another memoirist with you, Kelly Corrigan, whose three memoir…

October is National Family History Month, a proclamation the U.S. Senate established in 2001 to commemorate the importance of sharing and capturing family stories. "Millions of Americans are researching the history of their families," said Utah Republican Orrin Hatch when he introduced the bill. "Experts say that in the United States, genealogy is now the second most…