This is one very special lady who I spent yesterday afternoon with, presenting her with her book of her life story, 'Follow Your Heart'. She was utterly delighted with it and said, "it is above all expectations. You fed me properly into the right channels and the floodgate opened and wouldn't stop."  And she added, "The way you presented it tied everything together so well."
Anzac Day was such a special time to deliver her book to her in person as she survived the worst prisoner-of-war camp in Indonesia during World War 11. Instead of harboring anger and bitterness she somehow found positives in the dreadful experience - and this trait has enhanced her life and nurtured her amazing spirit.

I am looking forward to starting the Life Story book of  a man who is soon to turn 70. His daughters are compiling as much information and images as they can and then we are going to talk to his 90-year-old father for his memories...This is going to be a surprise gift for a man who has everything he needs. It will be a real tribute to him, compiled with love and making sure his life and experiences live on into the future...

I agree with American author, Susan Cheever who says, “I believe that the memoir is the novel of the 21st century; it’s an amazing form that we haven’t even begun to tap…we’re just getting started figuring out what the rules are.”
Memoir, in my mind at least, is an area of one's life that evokes intense feeling -  childhood, for me is a very good example. I love how old photos like this take me right back to that very moment and conjures up so many happy feelings... 

Anzac Day on April 25 in Australia and New Zealand honours the members of the Australian and NZ Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in World War I. Each year I remember a very special friend, pictured left, one of the last Diggers, the darling Eric Abraham, who fought at Amiens, the Hindenburg Line, Polygon Wood and the Battle of the Somme. He volunteered to be the 'bugle boy' in the Snowball March in Queensland and said that playing the bugle saved his life several times during the war. He died at the age of 105. At one of his birthdays, when in his 100s, a friend of his managed to find his bugle which had gone missing many many years before - miraculously at a market stall in Queensland, harder to locate than a needle in a haystack, and presented it to him at his birthday gathering. I will never forget that magic moment...What stories do you have about Anzac Day that you can share here?

I am visiting Tamworth from April 22nd for a few days and am available to conduct life story interviews that will be compiled with images into a beautiful hard-cover book. If you want to ensure your memories are never lost and will live on for future generations, contact me and make a boe

My mum is in the centre but I don't know who the other people are or where the picture was taken.

Anyone have any ideas?

I'd love to know...

I so wish I had written down my parents' stories before they died...because so much history disappears when they do.

I would love to have learnt more of what their lives were like before I came into the world.

It's only now I realise what I 've lost...and what little I have to hand on to my daughter...

If you know these people, do leave a post here - thank you! 

My dad served in WWII but he never spoke about it. I've discovered that so many other people won't talk about their experiences during the war to their families - but will open up to me, a stranger. Why is this?

During the War' Post Traumatic Stress' didn't have a name, I am guessing it was still 'shell shock.' 

Talking about traumatic experiences has a hugely beneficial effect on us, both physically and mentally, helping us come to terms with what went on as well as boosting boosts our immune in four different ways.

How can we persuade our loved ones to talk about the past? Any ideas????? 

"No one else can speak the words on your lips. Drench yourself in words unspoken. Live your life with arms wide open. Today is where your book begins. The rest is still unwritten." 
-  Natasha Bedingfield 

This is a luxurious 60-page linen covered book which can contain around 10,000 words and approx 40 images. 

It has acid-free paper which will last the test of time and is French-folded which ensures no image show-through onto the following page.

It comes with a DVD containing a digital copy of the book slipped into a case at the back.

It closes with a cute button and comes with its own beautiful protective box.