Ways to Showcase Someone’s Life Stories
Honour loved ones by helping curate the stories of their lives. / Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels
Family, friend, or ancestor – help their stories be remembered. Choose among these 14 ways (mostly short format!) to shine a spotlight on someone’s life.
You may like to honour someone of special meaning in your life. They may be a: family member, friend, mentor, classmate, workmate, life mate, ancestor, or anyone you choose (in my case, this includes my dog and cat!).
There are many benefits of preserving memories.
“Everyone deserves to be remembered.”
There are various short formats to choose from, including a profile, tribute, interview, story and other options. You can make a compilation, or a full-length book if you wish.
What you choose depends on the individual, the occasion, and the project you wish to create.
1) One-liner
You may only have room for one line or sentence, such as in a directory or on a gravestone. Or maybe that’s all the information you have about an ancestor.
While you can’t capture their whole life, you can point to key features.
Maybe it’s a caption under the person’s profile photo in a family history, such as (fictitious example): ‘James Smith, 1850-1910, Newfoundland fisherman and family man all his life’.
Or perhaps you have a quote that points to the person’s character, to etch on their gravestone. Or an anecdote about something they did, as a brief story.
2) Bio
Sometimes an occasion calls for one or two paragraphs about a person. It may or may not be about their whole life – it could be about one of their roles.
For example, you might write a bio about a relative for a trade journal, such as about their role in the field of medicine. Or a profile paragraph about a veteran ancestor on a military website. Maybe about your partner’s mountain climbing pursuits, for an adventure magazine.
If your elder moves into a seniors’ care home, you could write a brief bio to introduce them to caregivers and other residents. Some facilities post these outside the door to a resident’s room, or you could place it inside their room.
3) Profile
For a brief overview of someone’s life, you might write a one or two-page profile. This could be in paragraph or point form, with photos.
A profile in point-form C.V. format fits well for someone with career and volunteer achievements. It could be for their promotion, retirement or award ceremony, or to sum up their life’s work.
A résumé style could be used to highlight aspects of a person’s life, such as: children and family, hobbies and interests, and places they lived and traveled. Or you could focus on their key qualities, within categories such as: adventuresome, dedicated, friendly, team-player.
Choose the kind of writing that suits you and your subject! / Photo by Christin Hume via Unsplash
Profile pages may be for other purposes such as: a school reunion, or a book about group (e.g. church, workplace, military unit, sports club, volunteer group).
You can prepare individual ancestor profiles for a family history collection, or to present at a family reunion. It’s best to create a standard format to use for each ancestor in the collection. It’s great to include photos of a document, signature, place, or gravestone – and of course an image of the person if you have one.
4) Tribute
A tribute is a wonderful way to honour someone, at any life stage such as: graduation, wedding, or awards ceremony. A tribute might be for someone who’s passed, to honour them in remembrance.
For a tribute, it’s good to touch on key mountaintops (achievements and high points in their life), as well as some valleys (challenges and troubled times). Bring out their goals, what they faced, and how they fared. Focus on a few key character traits.
Instead of just speaking of their courage (or other quality), give an example to show how they exhibited this in their life. Include one or two ‘foibles’ or ‘quirks’ to bring out their unique personality. In addition to their main passions and pursuits, include a funny anecdote or two – even in a tribute for a serious occasion.
5) Memorial
In time, you may need to write someone’s obituary. It’s a way to honour the person and their legacy, share their memory, and connect with others who knew them. An obituary can be short or long. You can trace someone’s milestones and achievements over their lifetime, focus more on their character, or both.
A eulogy is a memorial tribute, spoken aloud at a funeral or other remembrance gathering. You might collaborate with family members, or write it yourself – then speak or read it aloud at the event to honour your loved one.
If you are given the chance to write comments in a memorial guestbook – paper or virtual – try to think of a special memory or moment with the person, or a little story to share. These are ‘golden’ to the loved ones who remain.
6) Essay
Usually when you write an essay, such as for school, you analyse a topic in a few paragraphs then draw a conclusion.
For life stories, you might choose a theme in someone’s life and provide various examples of how this played out. A biographical essay is short factual piece of writing that covers aspects of a person’s life.
You might wish to submit an essay to a genealogy newsletter, trade magazine relevant to the person, or a newspaper.
A remembrance piece I wrote about my mother for publication in a Canadian newspaper falls into the essay category. Rather than a biographical essay to chronicle her life, it brings out her essential character and personality through examples of her actions. The Globe and Mail guide for submissions to their Lives Lived column provides helpful tips.
7) Letter
One way to write about a person is to write to them in the form of a letter. You can say what their contribution in your life means to you. Tell them what you most admire and appreciate about their qualities and actions.
If you’re willing and able to share this with them during their lifetime, it can deepen your connection.
If you write it after they pass away, it helps keep their character in mind and to share their memory with others. It can also help to inform relatives about your family heritage.
Letters let you express your views about someone's life and qualities. / Photo by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels
I always saw my paternal grandmother as the sweet old lady she was to me as a child. She had a twinkle in her eye, gave me gifts I still hold dear, and was a kindly soul. In researching my family history, I found out more about what she achieved, and losses she faced. I wrote a letter to her posthumously to show my admiration and empathy, and to let my relatives know more about her life.
8) Poem
You could write a poem to someone or about someone, living or deceased. You might touch on their character and how their life affects yours.
Poems lift you up from 'just the facts', to convey your impressions, feelings and memories. / Photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels
You could write a fun poem for someone on a special occasion. I used to write a multi-verse limerick about each close friend for their birthday.
Like other types of writing, poems can help you grieve and come to terms with loss – as well as honour, celebrate and remember the person.
9) Interview
An interview is an engaging way to present someone – as they are, in their own words. It could be audio, video, or written.
Create a unique treasure by recording someone's stories as they tell them. / Photo by Tobias Tullius via Unsplash
Follow these tips for life stories interviews to get the most out of your sessions.
10) Story
All these ways to showcase someone are types of life stories.
You can also show their character and personality by telling an ‘actual’ story. The kind of story where they overcome obstacles as they try to reach their goal – like in a movie. You can either reframe stories they’ve told, or write stories about their involvement in your life.
Ask the person the kind of questions to prompt life stories, or use that list to decide which stories to tell.
You might like write their (whole) life story – in any format or length you choose.
11) Map
This is something I love to create, and I’d like to share the idea with you. You can use (user-friendly and free) software such as GoogleMyMaps to make an interactive map about a person. This is a custom-made digital map to spotlight key places in a person’s life, with pop-up photos and descriptions.
12) Slideshow/Video
People love photos. You can use still-images to make slideshows or mini-movies. You might like to add title cards and captions for the different phases and people in someone’s life. Perhaps include suitable music, or create an audio voice-over. If you have video clips of the person, you can edit them together into one piece.
These serve well for family reunions, birthdays, weddings and celebrations of life.
13) Life-Story Book(let)
My favourite way to showcase someone – family, friend, or furry-family (dog or cat) – is in a brief book with photos.
My experiences sharing someone’s life stories in a brief book (or ‘booklet’) have been meaningful and rewarding. If they and their close ones are there to appreciate it, that’s even better.
The type of book you could create include:
a book of their memories, as they tell or write them
an interview-style book based on interviews about stories from their life
a compilation of memories that you collect from others about the person
a scrapbook style book of photos of their favourite people, places, objects, recipes and such – with brief descriptions of why these are or were special to the person
Create the kind of book that suits you, your life stories project – and your audience. / Photo by Jonas Jacobsson via Pexels
14) Biography
Not keen on short formats, or ready for a longer version? You could write and self-publish a full-length biography about someone in your life, or about an ancestor.
Depending on the situation, you may need permission. Ideally, the person will have led an interesting life, and you’re an adept writer. An alternative is to hire a professional to write the book.
written by Barbara L Campbell, 2024