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How oral historians can invite difficult stories, ethically

November 21, 2023 Amanda Faye Lacson

While an interview subject may be willing to speak about traumatic parts of their past in an effort to create positive change for themselves and their descendants, it won’t necessarily be easy. Fortunately, there are things an oral historian can do to make the process more comfortable.

Telling stories of trauma is often hard. Here, strategies for creating space so your interview subject can deal with the weight of the past and share safely.

Start capturing your family stories with this 10-step plan

May 13, 2022 Dawn M. Roode

photograph of three old family photos and a pencil engraved with "tell your story" — Don’t let worry about how you will finish stop you from starting your family history project—just take one step at a time.

Don’t be paralyzed by overwhelm: Follow these 10 actionable steps (check them off as you go!) to get your family history interview project underway with ease.

Telling the family business story

April 18, 2022 Clémence Scouten

Telling the stories behind your family-run business should ideally involve researching the documentation and talking to the people who worked there—and if you’ve got some historic photos of the place, all the better. This photograph of the proprietor of a family-run tailor shop in 1936 New York City was taken by Lee Russell; courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Digital Collection.

Preserving the history of your family-run business will involve both some formal research and oral history interviews. Here's how to tell your family biz story.

History is not fixed

October 14, 2021 Amanda Faye Lacson

There is more than one history, as all history is subjective and impacted by the time, the person telling the story, and the person receiving the story.

There is no definitive history, and we as oral historians and storytellers have a responsibility to preserve the truth amidst biases and shifting perspectives.

On becoming an anti-racist personal historian

June 15, 2021 Anna Brady Marcus

America is at a crossroads in reckoning with race—will we continue on the track we’ve been on, or choose a path that includes everyone’s stories and acknowledges how we’re all connected?

We’re all responsible for dismantling racism. That starts with how we tell our own stories. Asking good questions—and being okay with uncomfortable answers—helps, too.

Should you hire a ghostwriter to write your life story?

February 15, 2021 Samantha Shubert

Did you know that ghostwriters are not just for celebrities and CEOs?

Planning to write a life story can feel impossibly complicated. Working with a ghostwriter might be a great solution for most non-writers—but is it right for you?

What you can learn from my missed opportunities

January 7, 2019 Cynthia Ramnarace

While I am the writer in the family, that did not mean I was the right person to write my own relative’s stories. In the reporting world we know that the worst person to report a story is one who is connected to it.