“Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a part of the sweep of history. Think again.”

 

“Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a part of the sweep of history. Think again.” So says Biff Barnes.

 

You are a witness to history.

 

Good details in your memoir about the history you experienced can make all the difference in whether you draw readers into your story. To pull them in is a must.

 

Think back.

Do you remember reading a book in which

you were in the story with its writer?

You tasted what he tasted. You smelled what she smelled.

You saw events he witnessed. You heard sounds she heard.

You felt the pain or textures or temperatures he felt.

We call those sensory details.

 

Think back again.

Have you ever read a book

that kept you at a distance—

a story that made you feel like an observer

on the outside, unable to get in?

 

If so, then you know how much richer it is

for a reader to live inside a story.

 

That’s what you want to do for your readers—

write your memoir so they get “zipped into your skin,”

in the words of memoirist Mary Karr.

 

You can “zip readers in” by including historical details of the era. To establish your story’s historical backdrop, the following details help create a sense of place and time:

• prominent values/philosophies
• that time period’s passions and culture
• the nation’s or culture’s major turning points (the Iraq war, for example)
• the place’s and era’s economic conditions
• health concerns during that period (polio, for example)
• scientific, technological, and medical advances
• political climate
• the nation’s struggles or victories
• major stories in the news
• and so on.

 

By age 25, I had witnessed Sputnik, rock ‘n’ roll, the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK’s death, the Beatles, Dr. Martin Luther King’s death, the hippie era, the feminist movement, humankind’s first walk on the moon, and the Vietnam war. They all influenced and shaped me.

 

What history-making events influenced and shaped you?

 

Make a list.

 

Then ask yourself: Did one or more of them

• send your life in a different direction than you expected?
• lead you to change your college major? your professional career?
• change your faith in God?
• break your heart?
• introduce you to your spouse?
• destroy your home or life savings?
• cause you to relocate?
• make you wealthy?

 

Here’s another question: How did you influence and shape history? Take to heart what  Biff Barnes said: You have been “a part of the sweep of history.” What roles did you play in history-making events? Perhaps you played a small role, or maybe you played a prominent role.

 

I’m eager to tell you about a fun tool you can use to enhance your story’s historical context: Check out a website from The Atlantic called Life Timeline.

 

When you enter your birthdate, you’ll see a list of historical events that occurred during your lifetime, and you’ll find links to articles about those events. Enjoy this fun tool to enhance the vibrancy and power of your memoir and to create a story your readers can experience along with you.