Frequently Asked Questions

There always will be. Just get your priorities straight. Establishing  the what/who/where that is most important to the subject of the story is the way in here and the rest will flow from this. Gathering together as many photographs as you can and encouraging the person to talk about them can yield some great and sometimes, unexpected results. If the person can no longer be questioned, try putting yourself in their shoes and fitting together what you do know. Often the answers you are seeking will become obvious.

Every life is unique and precious.There are many angles you can take when writing a lifebook and collaborations and contributions from a range of people can turn out to be a great resource here and go on to  produce a richer or else quite different sort of book than you might have initially envisaged.

There are lots of different approaches to a memoir from ‘snapshots’ in time, to a more detailed biography to a particular angle to the person’s life or theme running through it. We’ll find a way to achieve a result you will love.

Asking the right questions is one of my strengths. Don’t worry, the interviewing time will go very quickly! Interviewing is not charged separately but is part of the process. Some books will be complex and require more interviewing. Others less so. I can work from written material  to an extent if you prefer and I can send or email you written questions to think about and answer in advance of our conversations if that helps.

It’s possible. However, many people with dementia enjoy revisiting their distant past and feel comfortable and rooted doing so. You could try out anything likely to be controversial at first proof stage. If you’re worried about their reaction, we can simply leave it out of the final version.

The best means of doing this is by speaking to the person directly. When cognitive impairment is involved, I may still be able to do this (for instance in the early diagnosis stage). Otherwise I can work from recordings, film or from personal letters or emails if desired simply to get an idea of the right tone and word usage etc.