On Monday, June 15, 2026, I presented to the National Professional Organizers Association, Los Angeles chapter, my talk on “Preserving Family History – How Memoir Writing Provides Value to Your Clients & Their Loved Ones” at the Palms-Rancho Park Bramch Library. I was pleased to speak before 25 members of this group who bring much-needed services to seniors, busy working professionals, and others who require assistance with a variety of needs. Robyn Reynolds, CPO of Organize2Harmonize and president of NAPO-LA, invited me to give my presentation after hearing me speak at the SGV Fiduciary Roundtable.
In my work as a memoir and book writer, I find that there is an abundance of joy that is brought to the surface when people start remembering “the good old days” of their lives. Faces from the past become newly visible, old loves rise to the surface, and the names and dates of the past return again to recount times gone by.
I have identified ten basic benefits that can come out of the process of writing a memoir. This includes: healing of wounds from old grievances, shedding new light on relationships of the past, a sense of bonding that is restored with family and friends, and most importantly, the unloading of burdens that people silently carry all their lives, unknown to others.
I have given my presentation to many professional organizations, service groups, and networking societies, as well as to healthcare programs for seniors, wealth advisory firms and to estate and trust attorneys and their clients. Each time, I find that many people have regrets that they did not speak with their elders about the past when there was time to do so.
My response to that is that it is always possible, after the fact, to resurrect what this person or these people meant to you by sharing the stories they left with you. I spoke to the NAPO-LA organizers about the stories we all hold that bring us closer to those who have left us, and how there’s just as much value in Tribute Memoirs if there wasn’t time to speak with family members who were important to us.
I find that in every family, there is usually one person who is the recordkeeper and that person remembers details that others may have forgotten. I always try to connect with the recordkeepers when I am working on resurrecting family histories and personal memoirs for seniors. It’s a process that may take six months, a year, or longer but it pays off, big-time, in that it leaves a record of one’s legacy on Earth – what was important to the individual, how they spent their time, the culture from which they came, and the values they want to pass on so that they are not forgotten.
I concluded my talk with an invitation for everyone to share the value of writing one’s memoir with the people they serve. It is always an honor for me to listen to their stories, ask them the questions that may, otherwise, not get asked, and to write their memoirs so that they, too, can read and enjoy their stories as their memories diminish.
I am often asked to give these talks and welcome invitations, both local and online, to share what I have learned from over two decades as a memoir writer.