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I ask “ordinary”
women a question – a provocative question that daughters answered
in the form of captivating bio-vignettes or mini memoirs. I put a good
number of them into a soon to be published book called TellTale Souls:
Daughters Short & Sudden Truths about Mother.
The question
I asked (and am still asking) was, “If you could tell just one small
story that would capture your mother’s character and keep her spirit
alive, what would it be?”
The journey
I began over a decade ago into writing Mother Memoir started this way:
My mother
died, but she’s not gone. Her ashes are scattered in my garden.
I see her in my flowers and taste her in my fruit, and I laugh and I cry
with her and know who I am…and sometimes who I am not. I love to
hear and tell stories about her, and I know that my children and grandchildren
will discover her soul shimmering between the lines of those savory stories.
My mother
was born Margaret Althea Cook. She wasn’t a saint and she wasn’t
famous or wealthy. By most standards, she was just your ordinary, garden-variety
mother…and isn’t that magnificent? I think so, but then I
think the vibrancy and earthiness of a wild flower is beyond compare—and,
yes, she taught me to appreciate those ordinary things in life.
The gathering
of the bio-vignettes started after my mother’s death in September
of 1995. At that time, I sent a note to close female friends and relatives
asking them to send memories or stories about their own loved ones. Below
is the letter I sent back then, which precipitated the release that was
just the beginning of the remarkable chorus of voices that comprise TellTale
Souls.
“Dear_______,
My mother’s death last fall prompted a plethora of remembrances.
Through the tears of sorrow, bright rays of sunlight streaked as my sister
and I talked of things recalled—great memories we enjoyed and hope
to keep alive within our family.
Invariably,
when I spoke to friends or relatives at that time, their memories too
were jogged. And they’d tell little stories. Sometimes about my
mother, but more often than not, their stories were about their mothers.
I found each story interesting. They ran the gamut from hilarious, passionate,
bitter-sweet or sad, to amazing. Some were educational, others full of
wisdom. These were stories to remember, but I soon forgot most of them.
So I’m
hoping to coax these stories out of you now. Tell me a story. A tidbit.
A trifle. What unique anecdote do you want remembered about your mother
(aunt, godmother, grandmother, sister)?
A vignette—a
lesson, superstition, some wisdom, recipes for life (or the stomach),
witchcraft, poetry, letters, instructions, ancient feminine echoes, a
family ritual, herbs for what ails, maybe something you take for granted
that would delight me. It doesn’t need to be profound or lengthy,
just an original tale of a page or two. Thank you, and have fun remembering...”
Authors note:
If you don't write it down, it will be lost. Wouldn't that be a shame.
To "Keep Spirits Alive" Tap Memory & Write Memoir with Lynn
Cook Henriksen. You can buy my How-to book on this wonderful site!
You can buyLynn Cook Henriksen's book(s) here at http://www.booksbywomenforwomen.com,
and access other free articles in our archive; and in addition, find out
more about some of our other amazing authors.
Lynn Henriksen discovered
a profound way to capture the character of our mothers and other significant
people to keep their spirits alive. She has helped hundreds capture in
brief memoirs the memories and feelings they never thought they could
record. Her “how to” book, Give the Gift of Story: TellTale
Souls’ Essential Guide to Tap Memory and Write Memoir in Five Acts,
is easy-to-follow and filled with tips, examples, exercises, and sage
advice for memoirists and storytellers alike.
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