Memoirs give family insight, preserve valuable life stories

The growing senior population in southern Delaware has contributed to a burgeoning interest in the art of writing memoirs.

Indeed, memoir writing classes are offered at a number of venues throughout the region, and all are experiencing unprecedented enrollment.

"I think our students want to learn how to document their life stories in a professional way," said Anna Moshier, manager of the University of Delaware's Osher Learning Centers in Kent and Sussex counties.

Targeting an over-50 population, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has for several years offered beginning and advanced memoir writing courses in Lewes, Ocean View and Dover.

Based on my experience teaching memoir writing at Osher, the Rehoboth Beach Museum and Cadbury Senior Lifestyles, that burgeoning interest is driven by the desire to preserve valuable life stories for friends and family alike.

"There are stories I want to give to my family so they may enjoy them and better understand me as a person," said Jane Govatos, a Lewes resident who took a memoir writing class at the University of Delaware's Osher program in Lewes.

Added Govatos: "The class I took made me realize that it was simple to start writing short stories about things that have occurred along the way of living."

And most taking courses have little or no creative writing experience.

Memoirs are considered a form of creative nonfiction and are not to be confused with an autobiography. The brevity of a memoir — and the ability to write a lot of them — remain among the strongest attractions.

"A memoir," author Gore Vidal once said, "is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."

"The process of writing a memoir is introspective and reflective," said David Lipstein, an Ocean View resident who has taken several writing courses at Osher. "For me, it is a chance to reflect on both the happiness and successes as well as the disappointments and failures in my life."

Kathy Salamone of Millsboro is currently taking an advanced memoir course at Osher in Lewes after taking an earlier workshop at the Rehoboth Beach museum.

"Through creative nonfiction, I’m looking back on my life without stress or deadline," said Salamone.

Elaine Russo of Lewes and Nancy Murray of Dover have both taken memoir courses at Osher so they can pass personal memories on to their families.

"I hope to continue writing my memoirs so that I can have them printed and give them to my daughters and grandchildren," said Russo.

Murray, a lifelong keeper of a journal, hopes to convert that record into memoirs "for my family."

Gloria Hearne of Lewes said she enrolled in a memoir course at Osher because "when my mother passed in 2011, I realized that I did not have any of her written thoughts of events. I decided I want to write something for posterity."

Nan Strange of Rehoboth Beach has taken memoir courses at Osher and the Rehoboth museum. Though she started writing memoirs for her daughter, she realized the therapeutic value of introspection.

"I started out with a need to be understood by my daughter and, instead, learned about myself," she said.

Judy Hoffman of Lewes has taken two classes at Osher and plans to write memoirs for her children.

"I particularly liked how these courses helped jog my memory of things that could be lost and should be told," she said.

Nancy Alexander, director of the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society and Museum, said memoirs also help preserve the history of the community.

"When we have published excerpts from memoirs and oral histories from the museum’s collection, the interest has been incredible," Alexander said.

The museum currently has a memoir workshop in progress.

"Sharing memoirs is so easy, there is no excuse for not doing it," Alexander said.

Kim Ayvazian of Lewes said her maternal grandmother and mother-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, wrote memoirs that were, in her estimation, "dull" to read.

Ayvazian wanted to make sure her memoirs were written in an entertaining, creative style.

"My goal in learning how to write a memoir is to make my story come alive, to make it readable and not just another piece of family memorabilia tucked away in the attic, waiting for the dumpster," she said.     

Maribeth Fischer, executive director of the Rehoboth Beach Writers' Guild, is a strong advocate of writing classes to learn the art of creative expression. The guild offers memoir writing classes for members and non-members.

"A story, one's personal story, is so important and I wish more people would learn the craft of telling it so that they can present the most beautiful most compelling story they can," she said.

"I also want people to learn how to tell their stories better so that people who read them are moved and educated and entertained," Fischer said. "Why else write it?"

While most aspiring writers are content to collect their work in a binder, others use an array of self-publishing options to produce bound collections of their memoirs.

Several Delaware memoir writers also have tried to sell their published work through Amazon or some other outlet. And the prospect of popularity has occurred to some of the most dedicated and talented memoir writers.

"Hey, maybe there is a book deal or movie rights in my future," Salamone said with a smile.

And, regardless of the end use, many have found enjoyment in uncovering the past.

"I discovered that many times the stories I write made me smile and laugh," said Govatos.

raetyson@gmail.com

Rae Tyson is a freelance journalist who lives in Georgetown. He volunteers at the University of Delaware's Osher program in Lewes and teaches a memoir writing class.