Write Your Story: A Self-Start, Write Your Own Biography.

By Jennifer Carlson Ph.D.

Write your story!

What if you wrote it all down? What if—in writing your experiences and sharing them—you begin letting go…of all of those good memories that you wish to share or not-so-good memories you're trying to forget? Only you know what you wish to share. That was until now.

Questions, quotes, and resources are contained in this self-start, easy-to-read, write your own biography, which allows you, the reader, to immerse themselves in content with the intention of surfacing their own memories and writing the story of their life.

Dr. Carlson's courageous life story is recounted in a way that supports and encourages others to write their own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543954784

Book preview

Afterward

Writer’s Preface

I wrote this book for you. Yes you! And for myself as well. I hope to inspire you to write your own life story by sharing my own. I have found that writing in this way is the only way I would feel comfortable sharing my story with the world. So, although the writing of this book may be for me, it is ultimately intended for you. I hope that together we can share our lives— the way we have lived, the journey we’ve taken, and what we may have learned and endured is not lost but shared for the greater good.

You may be a complete stranger, and yet I’m going to share some personal stories with you, and then ask you to share your own. You may find some of these stories to be wonderful…and some shockingly horrible…but our stories make all of us who we are. Hopefully, these pages will inspire you, encourage you, or embolden you to tell your own story. I thought of writing an abridged version of this book, cropping out some of the horrible pieces, and decided not to. Who we are is who we are and there is courage in sharing experiences that have changed our life. You may never know how sharing what you’ve learned and experienced will change someone else’s life! Learning stories from others has at times changed my life and I am grateful to those who have had the courage to be open and honest with me.

Maybe you’ve already found the courage to write your story, and if you have, that’s wonderful! Hopefully information shared within these pages will assist you. Over the years many friends have encouraged me to write about my experiences. I’ve kept journals for more than three decades and I have promised them, and myself, that when I finished college, I would write my story. I finished college in October of 2015. I have always believed in the importance of telling the story of your life. For yours— here’s mine.

Introduction

No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.

~Robin Williams

Let’s change the world together. It has been a long road to this point in my life, having grown-up and lived through some very difficult experiences, including those over the past few of years. These experiences are a big part of who I am, why I’m writing this book, and why others who are privy have encouraged me to write my story. It is hard for me to believe, on a personal level, that I had conquered what I had to, but in October of 2015, I graduated with a Ph.D. in emergency management, despite every challenge that loomed in the way. I am grateful to be able to look back with what I think is a compassionate perspective and open heart that I hope will read as woven throughout each chapter.

I’m not perfect. I’m far from perfect and never claim to be perfect in any way at all! As a result, and because we are all different and at different stages in our lives, some of what you will read will ring true for you and some of it will not. Hopefully, what does ring true will help you to write and create your story between those days and months of writing as your life moves forward and your personal story evolves, and conversely hopefully what doesn’t ring true will help you to write too. I’ve read and re-read this book over and over, remembering details and rewriting, in an effort to be as true and authentic as possible in these pages. I have read that it is part of the human condition to not remember things exactly, so here’s my disclaimer on that! I’m remembering to the best of my ability the events of my life and this is all I can promise from these pages.

The beautiful thing about this process of writing, which you may find to be true for you as well, is that in telling your story, you release it. And you feel better— about yourself, about the world around you, and about the contributions you are intending to make in your life for yourself, your family, and your community. Maya Angelou said, There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. In telling stories, we release who we are; this has an enormous potential to change the world, those around us, and ourselves. The wonderful thing is you can write exactly what you want in your story. It’s all yours and it’s all up to you. Write to your heart’s content and by all means, have fun with your creation. It’s your moment to do absolutely anything within those pages Jennifer Murgia said. I agree wholeheartedly…have fun! Be creative Enjoy yourself. Write for you even if just in part. Even if you’re writing for others like I am with this book, write primarily for you because I believe that if you do, what you share will then make the greatest difference.

Sunrise at Acadia National Park

If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.

Toni Morrison

Leaving the