Case studies Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Forever Young Autobiographies

The Butcherbird Sings: Julie Campbell’s touching memoir about neurodegenerative disease

Case study: What Campbell knows about atypical parkinsonism and corticobasal degeneration

Julie Campbell’s heartfelt new memoir tells the story of how a devastating disease destroyed her beloved husband and the adored father of their two children.

The Butcherbird Sings: A memoir of hope and help born from a neurodegenerative disease was custom published last year by Bad Apple Press and is a revealing and moving read.

Certainly Campbell is passionate about the value of sharing stories as a tool to learn and to connect with others.

She caught up with Forever Young Autobiographies to tell us more about her memoir, the creative process and share suggestions with fellow writers …

Case study: Melissa Harris’s against-all-odds birth memoir One Pound, Twelve Ounces

What every hopeful parent should know about infertility treatment, miscarriage and micro preemie birth

Melissa Harris’s powerful new memoir is about a baby’s fight for survival and a mother’s perseverance.

One Pound, Twelve Ounces: A preemie mother’s story of loss, hope, and triumph came out last month and covers infertility and premature birth.

Indeed Harris’s dream of becoming a mother was shattered when a fertility doctor told her she might never have another child because of a physical anomaly.

But determined to persevere, she underwent nine surgeries, a year of fertility treatments and endured multiple miscarriages.

And when finally pregnant, Harris was told her baby, Sam, was at risk.

She caught up with Forever Young Autobiographies to tell us more about her life story, the writing process and share tips with fellow writers …

Case study: John Lawrence’s funny medical memoir Playing Doctor: Part Two: Residency

What a former medical student with a severe case of imposter syndrome wants you to know

John Lawrence’s laugh-out-loud new Playing Doctor memoir is a candid and unfiltered look at what you can expect as a medical student.

Playing Doctor: Part Two: Residency (Blundering along with imposter syndrome) is due out in December and covers residency training with increased responsibility and fear.

Indeed it follows on from Lawrence’s recent Playing Doctor: Part One: Medical School (Stumbling through with amnesia) about transforming from an uncertain, head injured, liberal-arts student into a medical doctor.

Certainly Lawrence was not a typical med student. For example, he snuck out of hospital while on-call to audition for television shows so that he could pay the rent!

But his writing has been praised by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons).

Lawrence caught up with Forever Young Autobiographies recently to tell us more about his new life-story book, the writing process and offer tips to fellow writers …

Case study: Adopted twin sister Julie Ryan McGue on penning her family search memoir Twice a Daughter

Amazing story of how identical twins overcome closed adoption to find their birth parents

The fantastic twists and turns of a family quest inspired adoptee and identical twin Julie Ryan McGue to write her new memoir.

Twice a Daughter: A search for identity, family and belonging was published in May by She Writes Press and named 2021 Living Now Awards Gold Winner in Memoir – Female.

The book tells the story of how a medical issue prompted McGue and her sister to find their birth parents.

Indeed this became a five-year quest involving a search agency, private investigator, confidential intermediary, judge, an adoption agency, social worker and a genealogist.

Plus the sisters unearthed secrets, lies and family members who were literally right next door!

Forever Young Autobiographies recently caught up with McGue to find out more about sitting down to write her amazing story …

Case study: US educator Evelyn Kohl LaTorre on writing her interracial marriage memoir Love in Any Language

What a 1960s Peace Corps volunteer to Peru knows about interracial relationships, love and marriage

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre’s new memoir Love in Any Language is a beautiful account about the trials and joys of blending two cultures.

The book is available from September 28 through She Writes Press and follows on from Evelyn’s popular life story Between Inca Walls.

Between Inca Walls is about her Peace Corps trip to Peru in the 1960s and falling in love with University student Antonio.

But in Love in Any Language Evelyn writes about finding out she is pregnant at age 23, marrying and moving home to California.

Here she learns to juggle full-time work and parenthood while Antonio learns English, finishes college and finds a job.

Forever Young Autobiographies recently caught up with Evelyn to find out more about sitting down to write this latest book plus her top tips for fellow life-story creators …

Case study: Englishman and West Ham fan Joe Morris on writing No Joe Bloggs

Essex local discovers life-story writing flow after Autism diagnosis

No Joe Bloggs by Joe Morris should be an inspiration to those wondering if they can pen a life story.

Indeed Englishman Morris fell into his autobiography project while seeking medical care.

And being diagnosed with Autism certainly did not hold this writer back.

In short, his book ranges from affectionate childhood memories growing up at Ilford, Essex, to quirky tales of London life.

Plus there is a moving account of Morris’s family, who survived the Holocaust, among other lighter topics like England’s 1966 World Cup win.

Forever Young Autobiographies caught up with Morris to hear more about his life, writing the book and encouragement for fellow creators.

Case study: French memoir Blown Out of Proportion by author Rachel Caldecott

An amazing story of love, glassblowing and one family’s gutsy move to France

Building writing confidence through experience was key to Rachel Caldecott publishing her memoir Blown Out of Proportion: Misadventures of a Glassblower in France.

Certainly Caldecott never expected to end up writing, despite coming from a ‘booky’ family that included a writer mother and publisher father.

Indeed as a youngster she was interested in “too many things” and assumed something else was waiting for her.

But, despite these doubts, Caldecott’s Blown Out of Proportion was published in April.

And it tells the tale of moving, with her husband Chris and their two young children, from the United Kingdom to southern France.

Here they establish a glassblowing studio in an impoverished, sleepy town while braving scorpion-filled hovels, eccentric locals, corrupt politicians and traumatic legal battles.

Forever Young Autobiographies caught up with Caldecott to find out more about her book, the creative process and her suggestions for fellow writers.

Case study: American memoirist Karen Hill Anton and writing her award-winning The View From Breast Pocket Mountain

What The Japan Times columnist and skilled Japanese calligrapher knows about leading an adventurous life and living in Japan

Memoir writer Karen Hill Anton has certainly had one interesting life!

Firstly she grew up in New York City and hitch-hiked the length and breadth of Europe as a youngster in 1965.

Next, in 1974, she left the United States with her husband and daughter, 5, and drove a VW Beetle from Amsterdam to Afghanistan.

Indeed, the family was on the road, mostly camping, for a year before arriving in Japan.

“After our first year of studying yoga and martial arts under a tyrannical sensei, we settled in rural Japan,” Anton said.

“The province of Shizuoka, Japan’s premier green-tea growing region, is where I’ve made my home and raised my four bilingual-bicultural children.”

Anton’s acclaimed memoir The View From Breast Pocket Mountain has been awarded the Book Readers Appreciation Group (BRAG) medallion 2021 and the Self-Publishing Review Book Awards gold medal 2020.

And this week she shares with Forever Young Autobiographies readers more about the book, how it was created plus tips for new creators …

Case study: The Moonsamy family’s The 17th Suitcase: Vignettes from a South African Family

The amazing story of how one family of Indian heritage survived life under apartheid and moved to America

This week’s case study is The 17th Suitcase: Vignettes from a South African Family, a fascinating compilation of life stories by Reverend Samuel Moonsamy and his family.

It tells how the family of Indian heritage, navigated the system of apartheid in South Africa – amid racial tension plus economic struggle – and settled in northern California, United States of America.

Certainly the book’s anecdotes are sometimes hilarious, sometimes serious and invariably thought provoking.

However, they ultimately aim to highlight a strong, faith-based legacy for future generations.

Recently Forever Young Autobiographies caught up with Priscilla, the eldest of Rev. Moonsamy’s six children.

And she explained more about the book, how it evolved plus offered helpful tips to those keen to sit down and record their own family stories …

Case study: Solo travel memoir Untethered: A Woman’s Search for Self on the Edge of India

The amazing travel story of a motorbike trip from New Delhi to find the Hindu goddess Kali

Get ready for a wild ride with C. L. Stambush in this latest case study about her bold and honest self-published book Untethered: A Woman’s Search for Self on the Edge of India – A Travel Memoir.

The life story tells of her five-month, nearly 7000-mile (11,265km) solo journey in 1997 as a young woman on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle and her quest to prove to herself she “can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone”.

Indeed Stambush had never ridden a motorbike and named her Bullet Kali after the badass Hindu goddess of rebirth, hoping to gain some grrrr.

But her mission was to discover the 51 Hindu shakti peetha temples, containing pieces of the goddess — lips, wrists, heart — believed to possess the power to transform.

However, along the way Stambush was reshaped as she encountered friendly families and ominous men, confronted culture clashes, hijras, and bandits, experienced monsoons, scorching deserts, and homicidal drivers plus crashed her motorcycle and much more.

So keep reading as the long-time traveler and journalist explains the story behind the memoir, the creative process and her tips for new writers.