Creating a Memoir? Sometimes the Things We Take For Granted Are Most Important

Clip art courtesy of Microsoft Office

Have you ever been reading a history book and said to yourself, "It is unfortunate that we don't have any information on this or that thing."  Perhaps you wanted to know more about peasant life during the Roman era, or you wanted to know how certain individuals in prior centuries coped with the deaths of loved ones (especially given the high rates of mortality for children and young adults in previous generations--how would a person cope with the loss of several of his or her siblings, as well as his/her parents, before that individual even reached adulthood).  You searched far and wide for this information but were not able to find it because the data no longer existed.

Often, we lack information on the past because those people did not keep records, or because the records they did create have been destroyed.  However, just as often, and especially when dealing with more modern periods, we lack vital information on a subject because writers from that era took it for granted.  They assumed that everyone knew about these events/things, so they didn't mention them.  

Keep that fact in mind as you are writing/creating your memoir (assuming you want to leave some type of written/image based memoir behind once you pass).  The little things that you take for granted are the bits and pieces of your life that your descendants (and any other interested people) might be most interested in.  

#memoir #history #genealogy #personal #information #data