Everstory

The Stories We Carry Because a life is more than what happened. It's the stories we remember. Everyone has stories. The problem is that many of the best ones are never written down. I sit down with people and simply talk with them. I listen, ask questions, follow the memories that surface, and often discover stories they haven't thought about in years. Then I take those conversations and turn them into beautifully written narratives that preserve not just what happened, but the personality, humor, emotion, and voice of the person who lived it. It doesn't have to be an entire life story. Sometimes one memory, one adventure, one relationship, or one remarkable chapter of a life is the story worth keeping. I also work with writers who have a story to tell but need help finding its heart, developing its structure, or discovering what the story is really about.

Family stories disappear surprisingly easily. We think we'll always remember them—or that someday we'll ask the questions. And then someday it's too late. I help preserve those stories while the person who lived them is still here to tell them. Through comfortable, unhurried conversation, I help people remember the details that bring an experience to life: the people who were there, what a place looked like, what made them laugh, what frightened them, what changed them, and what they understand about it now that they couldn't have understood then. I turn those conversations into written stories that can be kept, shared, and passed from one generation to the next.

People have always found it easy to talk with me. They tell me I make them feel comfortable, safe, and heard—and that has become one of the most valuable tools I bring to my writing. I don't conduct formal interviews. I have conversations. I listen closely, ask the question behind the question, and know when something someone has said deserves another moment of attention. Often a small detail opens the door to an extraordinary memory. My job is to recognize that moment, follow it, and then use my skills as a writer and story developer to turn what I've heard into a story that still belongs completely to the person who told it.