Telling Your Story Before It's Too Late

Roughly three years before my grandmother on my father’s side died, I decided to interview her and get her to tell me her whole life story

I wanted to know everything.

The reason why I was so eager to get this all down was because of what happened with my other grandmother on my mother’s side.

One day I decided to find out a little of our family history from my grandmother on my mother’s side.

She was a British Citizen, and after she moved to Canada, I wanted to talk to her about her life. She had not raised my mother. My mother was raised by an aunt, so my mother didn’t know much about her mother herself. I wanted to know about England, about her life and about her background.

However, by the time I decided to do this interview, she had dementia and could barely communicate with me or anyone else.

When I asked her to tell me a little about her life, she said,

My mother’s dead.

My father’s dead,

and my husband is dead.

That was the end of the interview.

So, when that grandmother died, years of family history died with her.

I know very little about that side of the family.

So, I wanted to have a good proper conversation with my grandmother on my father’s side before it was too late.

With the help of my cousin who was her caretaker at the time, we set up an interview over Skype.

During the interview, I let her tell me her whole life story from beginning to end.

A few years after doing the interview with my grandmother, I had the opportunity to do the same kind of thorough interview with my father.

I also plan to do this with other relatives as well.

Now, why does any of this matter?

It matters for three reasons

Wisdom to Share With the Next Generation

It gives you a chance to learn what the elders have to teach us before it’s too late.

Shortly after interviewing my grandmother, I attended a funeral where they played an audio book the deceased had recorded.

Her son made the comment, “Only my mother could speak at her own funeral.”

So, when my grandmother died, I decided to do the same.

While giving her eulogy, whenever it got to the point where I thought my grandmother could expound on the topic better than me, like on the topic of entrepreneurship, I played a short snippet from the interview I did with her.

Everyone was deeply moved, and they loved hearing her one last time.

Preserving The Family’s History

The other reason why it matters is because of the importance of preserving your family’s history.

It is important to know about your family’s history, genealogy, and any other important information that needs to be passed on to the next generation.

Honoring Their Story and Their Journey

When you let someone tell their story, you are saying that the story mattered and it is a way to honor and give dignity and respect to their story, their journey and their life.

So, I decided to do what I did for my father and grandmother and father for others. Contact me if there is a story that needs to be told before it is too late.