A WORD ABOUT ME

...I discovered my gift of creative and effective writing at the age of 6, when I composed a letter of complaint to the "Star" of a Boston based children's television program.  I had won a highly sought after "girl's pizza party oven" and received instead a "boy's space helmet." Within a couple of days of mailing that letter, I received a personal telephone call from the producer of the show apologizing for upsetting his young, adoring fan and informing me that the pizza party oven was being shipped immediately -- plus I could keep the helmet too!

Its no wonder that upon graduating from college some years later I ended up in a 14 year career as a legal assistant.  Being in the legal field, which has a professional and proper,  yet creative terminology of its own, rekindled my interest in writing and added fuel to my life-long passion with the written word.

My interest in life stories was borne out of a personal journey of grief when my first-born child (Angel) died shortly after birth.  One of the strategies that helped me work through all of the different emotions was to write about them.  In 2004, one of the stories I wrote about Angel was published in an on-line British medical journal.

I got a first-hand look into the obituary writing process when my father died. The funeral home representative arrived to meet with my exhausted family as we sat gathered around the dining table.  He pulled out a clipboard and asked us a series of content specific questions of what we would like to include in the obituary.

The breakout of arguments that ensued, and the tension we felt toward each other during those moments was horrendous and out of character because generally we are a compatible group of family members. 

What was at the crux of that argumentive scene was the fact that we each had our own special view of a man who touched our lives in different ways -- so what one family member thought was a "noteworthy item" for my father's obituary -- another was thinking "dad wouldn't want that included".   

Many people preplan their burial arrangements in order to alleviate their family members of that future burden.  Likewise, having a personalized obituary written in advance not only allows you to choose what highlights of your life you wish to be included ...but sometimes it is like giving your family a final gift....one of peace.