Your Memoir, the Way You Want It | | | |  | |
On Change
The old saying, “the only constant in life is change” is a worthwhile piece of paradoxical wisdom to ponder. Some changes bring excitement, while others inspire fear. There is comfort to be found in the fact that hard times will pass, and potential melancholy at the fleeting nature of special moments.
At Modern Memoirs, we are thrilled about a big change to our in-house staff with the hiring of book designer Nicole Miller (read more about Nicole below). We are also constantly moved by clients’ efforts to grapple with changes in their lives—some of which are the very geneses of their book projects. Major life changes, such as retirement, illness, divorce, becoming a grandparent, or becoming a widow have inspired scores of people to write their memoirs and family histories. In doing so, they use the power of writing to freeze in print their changeable, but never interchangeable, lives and heritages.
Perhaps one other constant we can assert at Modern Memoirs is that we will always be glad for the opportunity to help people who want to engage in this powerful work.
—Megan St. Marie
President
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“The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667” by Charles William Jefferys. Last spring, company president Megan St. Marie and her father, Ray Lambert, attended an online series hosted by the Franco-American Centre at the University of Maine–Orono to learn more about their heritage. They enjoyed the programs so much that they offered to co-present a session on their Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King) ancestors, depicted in the above painting. Click the link below to see the presentation and learn more about these extraordinary 17th century Frenchwomen.
“Nous et Vous et les Filles du Roi”
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Welcome Our New Book Designer, Nicole Miller! | |
We are delighted to introduce our new book designer, Nicole Miller. Nicole brings a wealth of design experience and creativity to her position on our staff, and we couldn’t be happier to have her join our team. In her staff bio, Nicole shares:
“My interest in books was cultivated in my early childhood when, from the age of four, I regularly accompanied my mother to the public library for her shifts as a volunteer. I spent many happy hours there, marveling at picture books and listening to storytellers bring illustrations to life.
“These early experiences inspired my passion and talent for drawing, tapping into the artistic nature I inherited from my mother’s side of the family. My grandmother was a painter and singer and would perform at local venues with my grandfather, who played the piano. Following in their footsteps, I continued my artistic pursuits throughout my school years and moved to the Boston area for college. I studied art, with a concentration in graphic design and business, and earned a BS in Business Management from Lesley College.
"Along with my design work at Modern Memoirs, I am currently illustrating and designing a children’s book entitled Chopsticks Goes to New York, written by my late uncle. It’s a true story from childhood about our Siamese cat who made her way inside my visiting uncle’s sleeping bag and then unwittingly took a business trip to New York City.”
Read more about Nicole and the rest of the Modern Memoirs staff at this link: Meet the Staff.
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Featured Blog Posts by Our Staff | |
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Reflections from Former Client
Kevin Albert,
author of Work Hard, Get Lucky: A Memoir
Interview by Genealogist Liz Sonnenberg
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The Write Stuff:
The Value of Transcription
in Genealogical Research
by Genealogist Liz Sonnenberg
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Reprint of Memories of the Spanish Civil War by Carlos Sanz. This handmade doll, in the outfit of a Spanish “anarchist” of the 1930s, was the only possession that made it out with Sanz as he and his mother fled Spain to safety in 1936 at the start of the civil war. (Cover photo by Beth Trabue, 2005) |
Veterans Day
by Ali de Groot, Director of Publishing
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Veterans Day was last Thursday, November 11, but I still want to take the time here to honor veterans and say aloud: “Thank you for your service.” Many of our clients are veterans or family of veterans of WWI, WWII, and wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan. Family histories often include mention of ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War. I have learned a great deal from these personal stories about honor, pride, and resilience, which can walk hand in hand with survivor guilt, sacrifice, and sadness.
One related memoir comes to mind, written by a late client who, although not a veteran, recounts his days as a child in Madrid, Spain in the early 1930s. In Memories of the Spanish Civil War, author Carlos Sanz tells of a terrifying walk at age four through the Retiro Park, where the Siege of Madrid began in 1936, known as one of the salient battles of the war. He remembers tanks rolling into the city, the bruises on his father’s face, his parents leaning mattresses against the apartment windows, his mother cooking his pet rabbit for supper when they ran out of food, and eventually his father hurrying them onto a wagon, to a train, to a hangar, to a ship that crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier, to safety. The Spanish Civil War would rage on for three years and cause one million deaths.
Eventually Sanz immigrated to the U.S. and worked for the United Nations, where he met his wife. He self-published this book in 2006, and his wife reprinted the book to honor her late husband’s memory in 2019.
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November Question:
Would you like to share the name of a family member who served in the military?
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Staff responses:
Megan St. Marie: My maternal grandfather, Paul E. Dowd (1925–2014), who joined the US Navy at age 18 and served in the Pacific Theater during WWII.
Sean St. Marie: My father, Terry L. St. Marie, who enlisted in the Navy and served in Vietnam. My brother, Brian St. Marie (1972–2016), and I both followed in his footsteps and served in the Navy in the 1990s.
Ali de Groot: My cousin Charles V. Lang (1941–1970), who served and died in Vietnam.
Liz Sonnenberg: My brother, Brad Sonnenberg, who served as a helicopter pilot in the US Navy from 1985 to 1996.
Nicole Miller: My uncle Kenneth Earl Liberty (1928–2020), who served in the US Army in 1951 and 1952 as a medical technician during the Korean War.
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Memory Lane Stroll
We’d love to hear your brief personal reflections on the question of the month (at left). Write your response in the yellow box for a chance to be featured in the next edition of our e-newsletter!
Readers' responses to October question: What is a unique or interesting name in your family?
My maternal grandfather was named Louis Sweetland Adkins, and he went by Sweetland until he moved north to New England from his native West Virginia in his 20s.
—Karen Boss
Amable (“friendly”) was the given name of two of my French-Canadian third great-grandfathers.
—Ray Lambert
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Stop by to see us in person or online:
495 West Street, Suite 1C
Amherst, MA 01002
www.modernmemoirs.com
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