Our Mission

The Mini-Memoirs Project began with a personal discovery. Before our grandfather passed away, he wrote a memoir that captured moments from his life we had never known. Through his words, we learned about his joys, struggles, and experiences that shaped him. Without that memoir, many of those stories would have disappeared. Some were things he never got the chance to tell us, and others we were too young to remember. His memoir became a lasting legacy for our family and inspired us to help others preserve their stories too.

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We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to share their life story, and every family should be able to remember their loved ones in their own words. Too often, these memories are lost with time. Our mission is to preserve them, to honor the lives and experiences of our elders, and to keep their stories alive for future generations.

 

Since starting this project, we have had the privilege of interviewing individuals ranging in age from 81 to 104, from California to Vermont and many places in between. Each conversation reveals a unique and valuable perspective. We have spoken with a United Nations refugee relocation worker who served during World War II, a Newbery Award-winning author, survivors of the Japanese invasion of China, a UCSF transplant nurse, and many others with extraordinary stories.

 

The memoirs we create are personal, meaningful, and entirely free of charge. As a registered nonprofit organization in the state of California, we see this work as a gift to the individuals we interview, their families, and the wider community. These mini-memoirs are often shared at family gatherings, passed down to children and grandchildren, and serve as lasting reminders of lives well lived.

 

We are committed to helping more people tell their stories, and to ensuring that the voices of older generations are never forgotten.