The life stories building bonds between generations
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Life
How one company is striving to build unbreakable bridges between the past to the present.
A time-honoured tradition
Since the dawn of time, people have passed down their experiences, memories and insights from one generation to the next.
In tougher times, the transmission of this vital knowledge could be the difference between happiness or despair, wealth or poverty, life or death.
Medicinal recipes, food preservation skills and farming techniques were all handed down, and life stories—successes, failures, vital life lessons—were also transferred through the centuries to give future generations the best chance of success.
Modern life and the way we live it has changed this. If you want to know what things were like in the past, now you can Google it.
TV series such as Downton Abbey recreate bygone eras, and this version of history is consumed unthinkingly—interrupted only by adverts for the latest smartphone.
Older people in popular culture are caricatured as having only war memories, as with Uncle Albert in Only Fools and Horses. The importance of seeking out the life stories of our elders has been nullified and their experiences glossed over or ignored, leading to a dislocation between the generations that can be hard to fix.
Times have changed
Elder relatives didn’t have the internet at home as children, didn’t play on consoles and didn’t FaceTime with distant relatives. But they did have first days at school.
They did have a first kiss, a first job and sporting successes. They performed in plays, met the Queen, got married and experienced a lifetime. Along the way they learned a lot.
LifeBook is a company passionate about preserving these stories for people's family and future generations.
Memories and experiences, once compiled into the author’s own autobiography, provide a heritage of life lessons, as well as amusing anecdotes, that would otherwise be lost in time.
It’s more than just a legacy. A LifeBook enables families to learn about their loved ones’ past. This creates a conduit through which intergenerational relationships can be broadened and enhanced.
Granddad hasn’t always been Granddad—he was into the latest fashions, went to some wild parties and shouted himself hoarse on the football terraces on a Saturday.
Sharing these stories between generations shows how society may change, but the essence of life and living stays the same.
LifeBook creates bonds between the generations now and into the future.
Visit Lifebook for more information on creating your own legacy