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| John Titford's book |
Titford’s instruction is clear and I agree completely. If
you are capable of writing a narrative family history, then do it! Family
history comes in a relatively dead form—names and dates on a paper or even a
parish register—and the much livelier version. This version was alive at the
time the person was alive and by writing the story of that person, we can again
infuse our ancestor with spiritual life. Collecting data is only a start. It is
definitely more rewarding as we analyze and synthesize our data and make it
into a story that helps the person live and breathe once more.
As if that were not enough, this type of research can also
inform our gathering of data. As we trace a life, we realize there are things
we don’t know, in fact, things “we didn’t know we didn’t know” until we started
imagining a life.
Titford gave us answers to our excuses:
I don’t have time.
Take a break from research or whatever else is so important. This is important
too.
My research isn’t
finished. That’s true enough, since our research is never finished. But we
write for this moment, this point in time. Just as in a court trial, new
evidence will emerge.
I can’t do a good
enough job. That’s perfectionism talking—Don’t listen. If I’m not so good
at writing now, I’ll learn as I go.
My software crashed.
Time to get it fixed.
My family’s story is
ordinary. That’s good, we’ll relate to it. The truth is that every story
deserves to be told.
How about telling yours?
