A native of the mountains of North Carolina, I grew up within a strong oral tradition and have always carried a love of family stories. I was the child who liked to look at faces in old family pictures and ask, “Who is that?” I loved to listen after dinner while my parents and grandparents swapped stories, even though I’m sure many had been “improved” with each telling.

In recent years, I have developed an appreciation for the urgency of preserving family stories following experiences with dementia and death within my own family. One of my deepest regrets is not having had the chance to record memories of some of those closest to me before they died. It is profoundly sad after such deaths to sort through boxes of pictures of unknown people, or to read old letters and documents and know nothing about who wrote them.

I have a wide range of writing and editing experience, including university publications, book publishing, business and marketing publications, and online content. My strengths include written and oral communication, organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of people. As a member of the Association of Personal Historians, http://www.personalhistorians.org/ , I am able to draw on the collective expertise of an international organization of professionals who are engaged in the work of preserving individual and family stories.

I love working with families and individuals to create personal histories. It is deeply rewarding work, and I have discovered that I am well suited to the field and the skills it requires:  interviewing, listening for a story, and creating an engaging narrative from personal interviews. Each project that I have completed has been quite different, and has been the product of each individual client's own goals.