WRITE YOUR LIFE STORY: The Essential Starter Guide

WRITE YOUR LIFE STORY: The Essential Starter Guide
Turn your memories into stories your family will treasure
By Bill & Marilyn Gould
Founders of Canadian Senior Moment

A Letter From Us
Dear Friend,
We’re not professional writers. We’re not memoir or personal story coaches with fancy credentials. We’re just two people in our seventies who discovered something important: your stories matter more than you think.

I’ve been a reader and a writer all my life. I excelled in English and literature throughout school and always aspired to be a writer. Life got in the way, and I spent 43 years as a long-haul truck driver. When I retired from the road, I became a freelance editor and have edited close to 50 books for people all over the world in the ensuing years.

Marilyn, on the other hand, was never a reader. She read only what was required for school and had no interest in writing. That changed a few years ago, however, when she began recording the family stories she had heard from her parents while growing up on a farm near Great Village, Nova Scotia. They were simple, undramatic tales about her ancestors. Just… life.

In 2024, I helped her compile them into a book, and we published it on Amazon. The Kendricks of Glasgow Junction is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback and hardcover. What happened next surprised us both. Family members asked for more. Friends shared the stories with their own families. People wrote to say, “This reminded me of my grandmother” or “I need to write some of these things down before it’s too late.”

Those simple stories became something bigger. Every Sunday, we share personal stories in our newsletter, Canadian Senior Moment, and readers tell us this is their favourite part of the week. It won’t be long before she has enough to publish a second book. This time they are about her own experiences growing up in Nova Scotia.

Here’s what we learned: You don’t need to be a “writer” to write stories about your life experiences. You just need to care enough to start.

This guide will show you how. We’ve kept it simple and practical. No fancy writing theory. No overwhelming instructions. Just the essential steps that worked for us and can work for you as well.

Your children and grandchildren want to know you. Not just as “Mom” or “Grandpa,” but your experiences as a younger person who had dreams, made mistakes, fell in love, survived hard times, and learned lessons worth passing on.
These stories are waiting inside you. Let’s get them on paper.

Warmly,
Bill & Marilyn Gould