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Frequently Asked Questions

Our programs are for anyone who is interested in creating a written family story — it is not a writing course. We do not study writing style, teach sentence structure, or correct your grammar.

Our goal is for you to write down your family stories just like you tell them so that your voice, personality, and reflections are included and become part of the story. Your kids and grandkids will want to hear your thoughts and feelings about family experiences, just like you’d want to hear the same from your parents if they created a written story about your family for you.

We have helped people with all kinds of language capabilities write beautiful family stories in their own words. Some people take what they’ve written in our program and use it to create a book or a public talk, but that is not the goal of our workshops. Our goal is family stories written by family members for themselves and their family.

In our programs, we teach you how to capture stories as you tell them in short narratives we call SLICES, which are up to 2 pages, double-spaced, 12-point type. Slices make it easier for people to tell a multi-generational story. No special writing skills are required.

Our online workshops are provided via Zoom, an online video conferencing application.

  • Check to ensure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded and installed on your system.
  • After downloading the latest version of Zoom, some computers require that you re-boot your computer to complete installation.
  • You’ll have the best experience if you access the workshop with a laptop, desktop, or tablet. We suggest you download the Zoom app to your smartphone as a backup should you experience problems with your laptop, desktop, or tablet.
  • Make sure you have a camera attached to your device; you must connect to the meeting with a video connection.
  • Make sure home internet capabilities have adequate bandwidth to accommodate the Zoom meeting. If you have a problem accessing the meeting, make sure all family members have disconnected from the internet and try again.

Just about everyone we work with, no matter how much they know or how much research they have done, says they regret they didn’t ask more questions when they could about their family’s past. That is a universal comment that we hear.

And, when it comes to a family legacy story, most people don’t realize two things:

  1. They know more than they think they do. They are closer to these family members than they realize and as a result, have something valuable to say.
  2. They don’t need as many details as they think they do to create a family story that is meaningful for their kids.

We don’t want you to chronicle everything — that would be too much for you to write and too much for your kids to take in. We seek to create something that is short and shareable so that your kids can take in and make a part of their own story. Our job is to help you locate those valuable pieces.

Sometimes the lack of connection to roots is part of the story so we’ll guide you to include that in your story. And if you write about your parents, you connect your kids to their grandparents, so 3 generations are connected. If you write about your grandparents, 4 generations are connected. Give the story to your grandchildren and you’ve successfully rooted them in a meaningful past.

“Basic computer literacy” means being comfortable and fluent using:

  • Zoom online video conferencing, and ensuring you have the latest version on your system at all times;
  • word processing software like Word or online word processing tools like Google Docs, including creating weekly documents that are double-spaced, 12-point type, and emailing those documents to the Facilitator each week;
  • accessing all workshop materials in a password-protected place on our website each week to download posted homework, link to websites, and watch online videos
  • the internet, email, and apps.

If you have concerns, please contact us to determine whether our workshops are for you.

Our Workshops are small group experiences of 5-12 participants, depending on the Workshop.

Our programs are for anyone who is interested in creating a written family story — it is not a writing course. We do not study writing style, teach sentence structure, or correct your grammar.

Our goal is for you to write down your family stories just like you tell them so that your voice, personality, and reflections are included and become part of the story. Your kids and grandkids will want to hear your thoughts and feelings about family experiences, just like you’d want to hear the same from your parents if they created a written story about your family for you.

We have helped people with all kinds of language capabilities write beautiful family stories in their own words. Some people take what they’ve written in our program and use it to create a book or a public talk, but that is not the goal of our workshops. Our goal is family stories written by family members for themselves and their family.

In our programs, we teach you how to capture stories as you tell them in short narratives we call SLICES, which are up to 2 pages, double-spaced, 12-point type. Slices make it easier for people to tell a multi-generational story. No special writing skills are required.

Our online workshops are provided via Zoom, an online video conferencing application.

  • Check to ensure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded and installed on your system.
  • After downloading the latest version of Zoom, some computers require that you re-boot your computer to complete installation.
  • You’ll have the best experience if you access the workshop with a laptop, desktop, or tablet. We suggest you download the Zoom app to your smartphone as a backup should you experience problems with your laptop, desktop, or tablet.
  • Make sure you have a camera attached to your device; you must connect to the meeting with a video connection.
  • Make sure home internet capabilities have adequate bandwidth to accommodate the Zoom meeting. If you have a problem accessing the meeting, make sure all family members have disconnected from the internet and try again.

Don’t think of yourself as choosing between family members, think of yourself as starting with one story. STORYKEEPING provides you with the tools you need to author as many family stories as you like.

Just about everyone we work with, no matter how much they know or how much research they have done, says they regret they didn’t ask more questions when they could about their family’s past. That is a universal comment that we hear.

And, when it comes to a family legacy story, most people don’t realize two things:

  1. They know more than they think they do. They are closer to these family members than they realize and as a result, have something valuable to say.
  2. They don’t need as many details as they think they do to create a family story that is meaningful for their kids.

We don’t want you to chronicle everything — that would be too much for you to write and too much for your kids to take in. We seek to create something that is short and shareable so that your kids can take in and make a part of their own story. Our job is to help you locate those valuable pieces.

Sometimes the lack of connection to roots is part of the story so we’ll guide you to include that in your story. And if you write about your parents, you connect your kids to their grandparents, so 3 generations are connected. If you write about your grandparents, 4 generations are connected. Give the story to your grandchildren and you’ve successfully rooted them in a meaningful past.

“Basic computer literacy” means being comfortable and fluent using:

  • Zoom online video conferencing, and ensuring you have the latest version on your system at all times;
  • word processing software like Word or online word processing tools like Google Docs, including creating weekly documents that are double-spaced, 12-point type, and emailing those documents to the Facilitator each week;
  • accessing all workshop materials in a password-protected place on our website each week to download posted homework, link to websites, and watch online videos
  • the internet, email, and apps.

If you have concerns, please contact us to determine whether our workshops are for you.

Our Workshops are small group experiences of 5-12 participants, depending on the Workshop.

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      I’d like to learn how to create my family story.I want to preserve the story of a family Holocaust survivorI am interested in programs for organizations

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