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The Book of Myself: A Do-It-Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions - 2007 Edition
For ten years the first edition has helped families capture life histories to pass on to future generations. Many families have written me to say how glad they are to have the stories down on paper, in personality-rich handwriting. Some have also shared what features made it especially easy to remember and write about their lives. I am pleased that Hyperion Publishing gave me the chance to draw on these comments to update the journal. In the new edition you’ll find:
- More space to write
- Elegant new interior design and “family tree” green color
- How-to instructions for genealogy enthusiasts
- Many of the same great questions about family friends, education, work and the world in the early, middle and later phases of life
- More questions about siblings, relatives, and special relationships
- Fun new questions
Please send your feedback from the "Contact Us" tab on this website Thank you.
Happy memoir making,
David Marshall - Moraga, California
Look Inside the Book - Page Design of 2007 Edition
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Introduction from Book
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Grandpa’s Story: I was born in 1903 and have just celebrated my 91st birthday with Gladys, my wife of 68 years. We have a son and daughter, eight wonderful grandchildren and so many great-grandchildren I cannot keep track of them all. Two years ago my daughter Karldene helped me write my memoirs. It was an exhilarating experience to tell the stories of my childhood, young adulthood, and later years in a way that could be passed on to future generations. My family loved it. My friends were envious, but most of them felt it would be too difficult for them to do the same. After all, it took me over a year to write with my daughter doing all the typing and assembling.
So when my grandson David approached me with a plan for simple book that would help people begin telling their stories, I jumped at the chance to co-write it. What we have done here is give you the skeleton to your story. You provide the meat on the bones. After all, everyone has stories to tell about family, friends, education, work, and the world during the different phases of life. I am nearing the end of my journey now. But before I go I wanted my family and loved ones to know my stories, big or small, deep or shallow, known or unknown. I have learned a lot during these last nine decades and want to share this with the next three generations. I know you do too. Before you go, let them know. -- Carl E. Marshall
(Grandpa Carl passed away prior to the publication of this book.)
Grandson’s Story: I grew up in the 60s and 70s and will soon be celebrating my 39th birthday with Kate, my wife of ten years. We have two young children and look forward to many of our best years still ahead of us. We are watching our parents and grandparents grow older now with trepidation and awe. Trepidation in realizing that they will not be with us forever and awe in realizing the wisdom about life they carry with them. Grandpa Carl taught me to reach for the stars and to believe in myself even it others lose their faith. He also worked me hard but I have to admit, such tasks as bricklaying in the backyard helped strengthen my work ethic. And he showed me how to treat math as an adventure instead of a chore.
I have always loved hearing Grandpa spin yarns around the dinner table. They helped me to know him more intimately. I wanted to find a way to ask him about all the different areas of his life and to save what he told me. Even some of the little tidbits that he would never think to add himself. It now comforts me to know that long after Grandpa Carl is gone I will still have this little book of treasures to share with my children and grandchildren. I hope this collection of life stories will help you to also begin sharing your stories with those who will carry on in your path. -- David P. Marshall
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Interactive Version
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ONLINE VERSION OF BOOK OF MYSELF: See electronic version of The Book of Myself as a Gather Group at ONLINE BOOK OF MYSELF. David Marshall answers new questions regularly and others share life stories as well.
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Amazon Editorial Review - 2007 Edition Update
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Strong is the urge to write one's life story as a keepsake for oneself and one's family. The difficulty is knowing where to start, and then where to go from there. Carl and David Marshall, a grandfather-grandson team, have created a fine and fun do-it-yourself autobiography. The cover of the journal-sized Book of Myself is intended to resemble handmade paper; the inside pages have the yellowed hue of a keepsake found in a musty attic trunk. The book is not especially pretty. But the questions--one per page, divided into early, middle, and late years, and then again into sections concerning family, friends, education, work and responsibilities, and the world--are good enough that it hardly matters. Among the 201 jumping-off points included here are questions concerning childhood toys, crushes, and forbidden exploits; adult embarrassments, betrayals, and achievements; and how one's views change over the years. --Jane Steinberg
Book Description: More than 250,000 copies sold! An even easier to use, revised edition of the popular do-it-yourself memoir
NEW:A lot has happened in the decade since grandfather-and-grandson team Carl and David Marshall fi rst published The Book of Myself. The American family, which was then undergoing vast changes, has only changed more. Intended as a keepsake memoir to be passed down from generation to generation, this book of questions -- which has already sold more than a quarter of a million copies -- has now been updated to reflect those changes. Though still organized by Early, Middle, and Later Years, the 201 questions have been reordered to start with more objective, easy-to-answer prompts before moving to reflective queries, followed by deeper interpretive questions. With a homespun yet elegant design and colored ink throughout, this new edition of The Book of Myself is the perfect way to record the turning points and everyday recollections of a lifetime and share them with future generations. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Genealogy
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Genealogy enthusiasts use The Book of Myself to tell and share family stories....
Genealogy
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News & Reviews
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"Telling Your Life Story: A Primer for Grandparents" The San Diego Family Magazine, September 2005
Telling your Life Story SD
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#5 of Top 10 Legacy Journals for Collecting and Preserving Family Memories, 2005
About.com
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AARP Recommends as Innovative Way to Make a Lasting Mark on the Earth, AARP Magazine, Sept/Oct 2002
AARP Memory Makers
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