Breathe Life into Your Life Story: How to Write a Story People Will Want to Read

by Dawn Parrett Thurston

Breathe Life into Your Life Story  is an essential read for anyone who aspires to write a life story—but not just any story, one your family and others will actually WANT to read.

Written for both novices and experienced writers, this book presents techniques used by novelists to immerse readers into their fictional world—techniques like “showing” rather than just “telling”; creating interesting, believable characters and settings; writing at the gut level; alternating scene and narrative; beginning with a bang; generating tension, and more.

Excerpts from memoirs written by such pros as Maya Angelou, Frank McCourt, Russell Baker, and many others illustrate how best-selling authors have used these methods to hook their readers. Dozens of “Learn by Doing” exercises help readers practice and acquire the skills necessary to breathe life into their own stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dawn Parrett Thurston was a teacher, a freelance writer, and a genealogist for many years before she realized that she could combine these endeavors and teach others how to write and publish their memoirs and family histories. Now, two decades after launching that career, Thurston claims she finds her work more satisfying than she ever imagined. “It’s a wonderful gift to be able to help others realize their lives have been interesting and meaningful,” she says. “People don’t come to see this until they begin to write stories about their experiences.” She wrote "Breathe Life into Your Life Story" (2007, Signature Books) to make her ideas and writing techniques available to a wide audience. The Utah State Penitentiary selected the book as a text for inmate writing classes. Thurston published "The Parrett Migration" in 2014, a multi-generation family history about her paternal family that traces their place in history from the colonial era to the end of America’s frontier period. Thurston grew up in Orange County, California, where she currently resides.

Reviews

[Morris Thurston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? Best how-to book for the would-be life story writer on the market. Perfect for those ready to look back and record their personal history. Lots of illustrations and interesting marginal quotes. Dawn Thurston is one of my favorite people.

[Wayne Groner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent how-to book. Husband and wife Dawn and Morris Thurston show how to use fiction-writing techniques to write a compelling life story, including: begin with action, show rather than tell, focus on key events, give your characters (that would be your relatives, friends, colleagues) personalities and behaviors, link your life to historical events, use conflict and suspense. An appendix of learn-by-doing exercises lists thirty-nine specific things to resurrect your memories and construct your stories. Our brains are muddled by many excuses for not starting. The Thurstons are authors and teachers of genealogy.

[Colleen Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been wanting to write my mom's personal history for some time now -- even have the interviews with her done -- but I haven't put pen to paper yet. I read this book so I could stall some more on it. Really, though, I'm glad I did. It's a pretty basic primer on narrative writing complete with examples, practice assignments and lots of famous quotes to motivate you. I do feel more motivated, and more equipped to start this project and make Mom's story as vibrant as the person she is.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. I read it to inspire me to start writing a biography of my great-great grandmother. It has great ideas. I especially enjoyed the book recommendations.

[Pat Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will read this book again and again as I continue to write either my autobiography or the biographies of my parents.

[Louise Hartvigsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on how to write a personal history, or just how to be a better writer. I'm compiling information to write my mother's history, so timely information for me.

[Ann Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written, solid book with good advice for personal history writing. There are good tips and good suggestions to walk you through the process. It covers all the important parts of compiling a personal history or writing your stories. It's a good place to start if you are new to this and a good reminder if you've done some writing.
For me, it wasn't as compelling as other helpful books, but it was sound. I read it without writing much. I recently reviewed a book that made me want to write page after page. This wasn't that. But maybe my hands are still fatigued!
I'd recommend this book if you'd like to do some writing--this will help you.

[Gayle Shumway · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are serious about writing personal histories, this book teaches how to share memories, not just words about memories with ideas and examples of how to use the senses of sight, smell, sound and dialogue. This book has excellent suggestions and exercises to jog your memory. For example: actually drawing the floor plan of your childhood home will bring recollections that will surprise and thrill you and your readers. Get excited about writing personal histories! Can you think of anything more important to leave your posterity?
I am enjoying reading this motivational book for the second time.