Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound by Rica Ramos

Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound by Rica Ramos. Cover of Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound and a portrait of Ramos.
Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound (left) by Rica Ramos (right). Photos by She Writes Press and Rica Ramos

Case study: How a Florida journalist wrote this She Writes Press life story

Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound by Rica Ramos is a family story about old trauma and new life.

The memoir tells how American journalist Ramos was about to remarry in her early forties but questioned inviting her mum to the wedding.

In short this was because her mother refused to acknowledge the sexual abuse a young Ramos had suffered at the hands of her stepfather.

So keep reading to find out what happened, how the She Writes Press publication got started plus essential tips for your own creating

Related article – Publishing: The ultimate guide to publishing a life story

Continue reading Nobody’s Daughter: A memoir of healing the mother wound by Rica Ramos

Feature article: Helping you create a life story super fast!

Feature article: Helping you create a life story super fast! Woman sitting next to a cafe window wearing a white cotton shirt and wooden-bead necklace while reading a magazine.
Photo by Rawpixel from Pexels

Amazing reasons why you should write a feature story

A feature article is the surefire trick to creating a whole life story super fast!

As a print journalist and life-story coach I have written many over the years.

So I know how powerful and far reaching they can be to preserve, celebrate and share life stories in no time.

Unlike a full-blown autobiography, creating a feature article about your life or a loved one’s life has many advantages…

Continue reading Feature article: Helping you create a life story super fast!

My Dream Time: Tennis memoir by Wimbledon and Aus Open star Ash Barty

My Dream Time: Tennis memoir by Wimbledon and Aus Open star Ash Barty. My Dream Time: A memoir of tennis and teamwork by Ash Barty, HarperCollins, and a portrait of Barty. Photos by HarperCollins and Nic Morley.
My Dream Time: A memoir of tennis and teamwork (left) by Ash Barty (right), HarperCollins. Photos by HarperCollins and Nic Morley.

Book review: Australian Book Industry Awards winner about an Aussie girl from Ipswich

I started My Dream Time: A memoir of tennis and teamwork by Ash Barty AO during the middle of an Aussie summer when the Australian Open was being played.

It certainly was a fitting time to read this story by the 2022 Australian Open champ, which charts her tennis story from age 5 when she picked up a racquet in Queensland.

Notably the HarperCollins life story nabbed the Australian Book Industry Awards 2023 Biography Book of the Year and has been a huge bestseller.

So keep reading to discover more about this First Nations’ Australian, her memorable story plus what it can teach us for our own creating…

Continue reading My Dream Time: Tennis memoir by Wimbledon and Aus Open star Ash Barty

Best life stories of 2023: Award-winning books to read over the holidays

What’s on a life-story coach’s reading list for 2024. Pick up these must-read books of 2023!

What’s on a life-story coach’s reading list for 2024

Welcome to my final and fave article of the year!

Keep reading for the Forever Young Autobiographies shortlist of life stories to win awards during the past 12 months.

This best life stories of 2023 list features writers from Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Also look out for my reviews of each book on the website during 2024 …

Continue reading Best life stories of 2023: Award-winning books to read over the holidays

Best of 2023: Don’t miss the most trending life-story articles of the year

Best of 2023: Don’t miss the most trending life-story articles of the year. Yellow table covered in confetti with a medal and a trophy. Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

Best 2023 articles about writing quotes, story setting, why is theme important and family story Mitan and Moni

The Forever Young Autobiographies website has had thousands of visitors this year looking to plan, create, polish and publish life-story projects.

Of course, some articles were more popular than others.

Therefore today I’m highlighting the top 4 you found most helpful.

So keep reading for the best of 2023 and feel free to make suggestions about what you want to see in the new year!

Continue reading Best of 2023: Don’t miss the most trending life-story articles of the year

Buy a gift: Christmas wish list and Secret Santa list for life-story creators

Buy a gift: Christmas wish list and Secret Santa list for life-story creators. Red and brown paper Christmas shopping bags filled with white tissue paper and decorated with snowflake ornament tags. Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

Everything you need to know about gift giving for life story lovers

This Chistmas buy a gift to encourage life-story creating.

Today I’ve put together some ideas to consider.

These suggestions are easy and suit all budgets.

Surely you will find something of interest!

Continue reading Buy a gift: Christmas wish list and Secret Santa list for life-story creators

Why is theme important: Use themes to create and edit life stories

Why is theme important: Use themes to create and edit life stories. Silhouette of a bicycle sign against darkening blue sky with palm tree in background. Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels
Include stories that amplify a central theme like bicycle wheel spokes connecting to a central hub.

Ask Nicola Q&A: The quick and easy way to understand theme and find the theme of a story

G’day and welcome to Forever Young Autobiographies – Ask Nicola.

Regularly I get questions about creating life stories for family and friends.

Today’s Ask Nicola question is:

Why is theme important when editing? 

So let’s jump into a few key points about themes to keep in mind when polishing your work … 

Continue reading Why is theme important: Use themes to create and edit life stories

Chasing Me to My Grave: Jim Crow memoir by Georgia artist Winfred Rembert

Chasing Me to My Grave: Jim Crow memoir by Georgia artist Winfred Rembert. Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South by Winfred Rembert as told to Erin I. Kelly, Bloomsbury Publishing, and a portrait of Rembert. Photos by Bloomsbury Publishing and Renan Ozturk
Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South (left) by Winfred Rembert (right) as told to Erin I. Kelly, Bloomsbury Publishing. Photos by Bloomsbury Publishing and Renan Ozturk

Book review: Pulitzer winner about chain gangs, lynching, black history and the Civil Rights era

Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South by the late Winfred Rembert is a life story about a nobody becoming a somebody.

In short, it recounts how Rembert grew up in Georgian cotton fields, survived years on chain gangs and became a world-renowned leather artist.

The Bloomsbury Publishing memoir was told to Tufts Philosopher Erin I. Kelly and scooped the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Biography.

So keep reading to find out more about this award-winning story, what makes it interesting and how it can help us with our own creating …

Continue reading Chasing Me to My Grave: Jim Crow memoir by Georgia artist Winfred Rembert

AI: Artificial Intelligence tips I’m trying for life stories

AI: Artificial Intelligence tips I’m trying for life stories. A watercolour image of an open book and tech background. Photo by Bing Image Creator
Photo by Bing Image Creator

Everything you need to know about using AI to record memories

AI or Artificial Intelligence is a trending topic and for many reasons.

But how, if at all, can it be helpful for us as life-story creators?

Recently I took a test drive of different AI platforms and applications.

So keep reading to find out what I discovered (without the tech jargon!) plus easy ways you can use AI to get creative …

Continue reading AI: Artificial Intelligence tips I’m trying for life stories

My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: An amazing family story by Danish TV journalist Johannes Langkilde

My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: An amazing family story by Danish TV journalist Johannes Langkilde. Langkilde with his cousin who is dressed as a Samoan princess, cover of My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: The unlikely adventures of a Dane in Polynesia, and a portrait of Langkilde. Photos by Johannes Langkilde and Wendila
My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: The unlikely adventures of a Dane in Polynesia (centre) by Johannes Langkilde (right) and with his cousin (left) who dressed up as a Samoan princess during a family gathering and cultural performance in Langkilde’s family honour. 

Case study: News anchor’s chance meeting unites him with enriching American Samoan relatives

My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: The unlikely adventures of a Dane in Polynesia by Johannes Langkilde, with Cathrine Errboe, is a family story born from a chance meeting.

The life-story book tells how well-known journalist Langkilde grew up in cold, windswept Denmark hearing stories of faraway relatives on the tropical islands of Samoa – one of them a real live chief! 

However in 2016 he suddenly found himself face to face with Fagafaga Daniel Langkilde of American Samoa while covering a political convention in the United States of America.

So keep reading to find out how a spark ignited between the two distant cousins, how the Wendila publication began plus tips for your own creating

Continue reading My Cousin Is a Chief in Samoa: An amazing family story by Danish TV journalist Johannes Langkilde