Tell your life STORY

Passing on your life experiences can be a wonderful gift to future generations. Bryher Scudamore offers ways of doing it

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When Bryher Scudamore’s mother, Peggy, died 21 years ago, she was devastated. Not only had she lost her best friend, but she realised, as she sifted through papers and photos, that she had lost a big part of her past. There was so much of her mother’s life that Bryher didn’t know about that she desperately wished she had discovered before she’d lost her.

Sadly, Bryher’s experience is all too common. Among the top 10 regrets in a UK survey of those over 50 was ‘not asking more about parents’ and grandparents’ lives’. However, Bryher’s mother’s death became the inspiration for not only writing her own life story, but launching a business called Autodotbiography, 10 years ago, at the age of 60. Since then, she has helped hundreds of people put together their memories into a personal memoir, making her an expert on autobiography. She shares some of her ideas below.