Writing Family Histories and Memoirsby Kirk Polking (Betterway Books): A family history is a valuable treasure you can leave your family. Simplify the writing process with strategies that help you define your approach, get started, choose topics, select a style and develop a schedule. Possible interview topics: childhood, school memories, family life, friends and sibling stories, hobbies and talents, sports, music & books, community, work-life and career, wedding memories, raising children, trips and vacations, holidays, memorials, food traditions, native languages, religion, cultural celebrations, songs. Organizing and Preserving Your Heirloom Documentsby Katherine Scott Sturdevant (Betterway Books): The easy-to-follow guidelines and ideas for preserving your family papers in this new book will help you begin creating a documentary volume. Photographs

Photo books are ideal for a single subject or focus: one person or couple, one place, one event or one collection (such as Great-grandma’s recipes). Think about the photos you’d like to share and preserve, and how they might be presented together in a book. Or if you have a story you’d like to tell, look for images to illustrate it. Consider your audience. Who might read the book? What are they likely to find interesting and engaging? Photos — Include whatever family photos of deceased ancestors and living family members you can find — the more, the better, in the highest-quality originals or scans possible. I do think the novel took quite a slow pace from here onwards. Thought it still remained engaging. The gripping details of the incident that Sahil faced and the sprinkling of historical events such as Diana’s death really brought the novel to life. The Genealogist’s Question & Answer Book by Marcia Yannizze Melnyk (Betterway Books): Get the answers to more than 150 common questions beginners ask. Topics covered include vital records, church records, census records, city directories, newspapers and more.

How to Adapt Old Family Diaries, Journals and Letters for Modern Audiences

Family origins: Select a family central to your research and tell the story of their life, migration and origins. Can Liz figure out who the killer in her new family is? And can she save his newest victims before it’s too late? As far as debut novels go, I can probably count on one hand the number of debut novels I’ve read that actually live up to the hype. In my opinion, the majority that are popularised are done so based on low standards of representation by us as readers. The Family Tree, however, is one of the most gripping debut novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I am in complete awe at Hussain’s mastery of invoking many an emotion through her storytelling. Boldly diverging from the overdone culture-bashing, self-hate dramatisation of the British Pakistani community that seems to be the only thing we’re known for in popular media and contemporary fiction, The Family Tree is wholly refreshing and unique in its exploration of the historic and modern British Pakistani identity. Snapfish: Again, you can choose from a variety of sizes and family-based themes. After you’ve gathered your photos and selected a web publisher, creating a photo book is fairly simple and straightforward.

Captions — Captions are especially important in a family history book. Attempt to identify each person in a photo. Forlarge groups of people in which identification of everyone is impossible, at least caption the photo with information about when and where the photo was taken.

Your Guide to DIY Family History Projects and Crafts

They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins by Loretto Dennis Szucs (Ancestry): Nearly everyone has immigrant ancestors. Here is an accurate, readable and interesting guide to naturalization records and sources that will point to your immigrant ancestor’s origins in the Old Country. I started on my book in early October, working on it after the kids went to bed. I finished it just in time for Christmas. You might have more time to dedicate to your book, but if you haven’t started yet, I recommend doing it soon! Four ways to make your family history book more engaging Not long after Liz receives a message from an agent working for the FBI who wants to talk to her about her DNA results and a familial link to a multiple homicide case they have been working on. Family memoir:Photos of a parent, grandparent, or relative, along with stories from interviews, journals, newspaper clippings, maps, and postcards.

State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart (Genealogical Publishing Co.): State census records rank with federal censuses as a major genealogical resource, yet they’ve remained under-used by many researchers. This book details, state-by-state, which state censuses exist for you to research and how you can access them. Surnames As thrilling as this book was my favorite part had to be the cultural representation - Liz being raised in an Italian family then learning about her Mexican roots. A main protagonist is rarely ever a Hispanic woman so it was refreshing for me to read since I am Hispanic and hardly ever see representation in a lead character from this genre. Family history books are great projects for sharing family history. Once you’ve got all the essentials of your photo book planned out, take your project to the next level with these ideas for how to make your photo book even more engaging. Put a unique spin on the tale: How a story is told and who is telling it can add a unique flavor to a story, so it’s worth putting your own spin on the tale. You can share your own memory of the ancestor you’re documenting, or show the origins of a family tradition and how your family has evolved over time. Are you inspired by your great-grandparents love story or journey to America? Tell how their legacy continues to shine through the generations. First Steps in Genealogy: A Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Family Historyby Desmond Walls Allen (Betterway Books): From interviewing family members to searching the census, determining the reliability of sources to documenting findings and more, this book is a must-have for the beginner.Dozens of Cousins :Blue Genes, Horse Thieves, and Other Relative Surprises in Your Family Tree by Lois Horowitz (Ten Speed Press): Untangle those family tree branches and discover how everyone in your family is related.