The Importance of Preserving Family Stories

The quote above is from Alex Haley, the author of the extremely popular tv series Roots which aired in 1977. The story was based on the author's novel of the same name which had been published only a year or so earlier. Besides being well done, the tv series made people aware of the importance of their own roots, their families.

Many who watched the series began to seek information about their families, both present and generations earlier. Family stories became trendy for a while. I still think they are of utmost importance. Knowing what came before is a help to knowing who we are today

Look at these quotes about the importance of family stories--not just the telling of them but writing them so they are preserved: 

If you don’t recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are. Madeleine L’Engle

“It turns out that sharing family stories with adult children and grandchildren is more than a pleasant pastime. Research has found that a strong narrative helps build strong family bonds. .Passing down lessons and values through stories enhances a sense of well-being.” (Mary W. Quigley)

“The best-loved stories are not from books or films, but those from our own families” Jane McGarvey

“Family stories casually chatted about at the dinner table, or regaled again and again at family gatherings can parallel great epics or notable short stories. The memorable stories of our lives and of others in our family take on special importance because they are true, even if everyone tells different versions of the same event. These tales are family heirlooms held in the heart not the hand. They are a gift to each generation that preserves them by remembering them and passing them on.” (Heather Forest)

I was blessed in having parents who both told us myriad family stories, most often at the dinner table. It was a time when we came together as a family. My parents came from totally different backgrounds. Dad's French heritage family came to Chicago from Quebec and, farther back, from France. Dad grew up in a city atmosphere. My mother was born in a small coal-mining town in Iowa with grandparents who had emigrated from England and Ireland. Two families with different lifestyles but many oft-told stories from both. I learned so much listening to those stories my parents shared with us. Sadly, neither one of them ever wrote one of the stories, so the only way they were preserved is the retelling by me and my brothers. I am the one person in the family who has written some of the stories making sure they will not die.

Writing family stories is not just a pleasant pastime. Preserving the history of your family for your present and future family is important. Those quotes I shared above are only a few of the dozens and dozens I found when I did a search on google. The numbers alone should tell you the importance given to the telling and writing of family stories.

I'm going to be featuring different aspects of writing family stories the next several posts. I hope you'll join me.