The Legacy Guide: Capturing the Facts, Memories, and Meaning of Your Life [Paperback]

Carol Franco (Author), Kent Lineback (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2006

The ultimate guide and companion for anyone who wants to record the story of his or her life or that of a loved one.

Have you ever wondered about an ancestor you know only as a compelling face in a faded family photograph? Imagine discovering an entire book on this ancestor's life -one that described the world in which he lived and detailed his dreams, accomplishments, disappointments, and the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime. The Legacy Guide helps readers create such a book. Designed for writers and non-writers alike, it outlines a simple, intuitive, and highly flexible framework for turning your personal history-or that of a loved one-into a treasured family heirloom.

It's been said that everyone has a story to tell, but anyone who has sat down to record his or her life story will tell you that there were moments of feeling completely overwhelmed and frustrated. Introducing the innovative program Facts to Memories to Meaning, The Legacy Guide takes you step-by-step through the seven stages of life-such as childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, etc.-to recall moments long forgotten and to discover their significance. And it helps you fashion these pieces together, much as you would a scrapbook, into a creative and compelling whole. Full of engaging and instructive quotations from the famous and the not-so-famous who have committed their stories to paper, The Legacy Guide will inspire you to capture the milestone events that have given shape to your life and allow you to weave them into a book that preserves this legacy for generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran authors Franco and Lineback lead readers from beginning to end through the daunting process of writing a memoir-for fun, loved ones or publishing. Examining each stage of life, the authors outline the issues to consider and the questions to ask oneself, as well as techniques for successful writing. Using lively examples from a variety of literary sources, as well as some of their personal stories, the authors clue readers in with insightful ideas, down-to-earth stylistic advice and resources for further study. Writing tips aren't groundbreaking ("Always end a work session when you are confident of what to say or do next") but reinforce practical, time-tested methods, illuminating the smoothest trajectory through this difficult, solitary task. The authors' focus on distilling meaning from life events proves the most helpful part of the work ("what wisdom did you gain from the choices that didn't quite work out?"), which should be of immediate utility for anyone who enjoys journaling or scrapbooking and wants to take their hobby in a more analytical (and potentially profitable) direction.
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About the Author

Carol Franco has been a publishing executive for over twenty-five years. Formerly the director of Harvard Business School Press, she is currently an affiliated agent with Kneerim & Williams. Franco previously was president of Ballinger Publishing Company, at the time a subsidiary of Harper & Row.
Kent Lineback is a professional writer who specializes in collaborating with prominent business thinkers and executives who want to write books. He is the coauthor and author of several books, including the BusinessWeek bestseller The Monk and the Riddle.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585425168
• ISBN-13: 978-1585425167
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A memory jogger with depth and good examples, January 24, 2007

By 

Pat McNees (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Legacy Guide: Capturing the Facts, Memories, and Meaning of Your Life (Paperback)

I teach a course in Life Stories and Legacy Writing at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, so I'm always looking for books I can recommend to my students. There are many "memory jogger" books of the type that ask things like "When was your first kiss" or "tell me about the first day of school." This one provides similar but better triggers for memories but also helps readers find a pattern in their lives, which I think will be helpful for people working on their own. During this session I've recommended this book and Tristine Rainer's book, YOUR LIFE AS STORY, for students who want to do more on their own. I'm glad someone is asking for "facts, memories, AND meaning," and with such good examples.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Legacy Guide, January 22, 2007

By 

Ellen Walton - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Legacy Guide: Capturing the Facts, Memories, and Meaning of Your Life (Paperback)

An excellent book with easy-to-follow instructions on how to bring out the life stories of loved ones -- including yourself. I used the method with my mother when she was in assisted living and had little to talk about. Together, we captured her life memories for myself and my family. She, in turn used the questions at the dinner table with her friends to relive their life experiences. In her last days my mother wanted the caregivers to read and reread her stories as a way to say good-by to life. The book provides a way to organize the memories of your life and the lifes of people reaching the end of their allotted life span. I would highly recommend the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple and captivating ideas, December 23, 2009

By 

E. Landreth (Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Legacy Guide: Capturing the Facts, Memories, and Meaning of Your Life (Paperback)

I teach people how to write their life stories and have been doing that for several years. I am always looking for good ideas to enhance my teaching. I am enjoying the additional tidbits of information this book shares. I especially enjoyed the method the authors suggest for dividing up your book into the seven stages of life. I had already decided on a different method for dividing my life up but decided to change and go with this creative idea.

I especially like the way this book shares that you first give the facts and then share the meaning you have discovered from that happening. It adds an additional element to writing your book that will make it so much more readable for future generations.

Because of my recommendation some of my students also bought this book. My recommendation is that whatever method you are using to write your life story--this book will add value and meaning to your method.