DAWN THURSTON
How to Write About Family Skeletons and Other Prickly People
Say, your grandfather was an alcoholic or your sister had an abortion. Do you mention it in your family history? Or, what if your mother had emotional problems and your memories of her are laced with pain and resentment? Do you mention any of this in your life story, or do you rewrite history to protect your mother’s image? How honest should you be? These are difficult questions that trouble many family historians. Dawn Thurston’s presentation will examine the issues and give you guidelines to approach writing your family history with confidence--and maybe even a clear conscience!
Dawn Thurston has taught life story writing for 14 years at workshops around the country and at colleges in California and Utah. Along the way, she has helped hundreds of people write their family histories. Ms. Thurston has degrees in English and communications from UCLA and worked as a freelance writer after college Her book, Breathe Life into Your Life Story: How to Write a Story People Will Want to Read, was published by Signature Books in 2007. She is a member of the Association of Personal Historians, the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, and the National Association of Memoir Writers.