All human beings have an innate need to hear and tell stories and to have a story to live by. --Harvey Cox (born 1929)
At Storied Gifts we recognize that the greatest contribution an individual can share is the endowment of their life wisdom told and presented in a meaningful way. A person’s history represents a perspective and sensitivity that only they can reveal.
My father-in-law, Dr. Henry Borzo, spent over 40 years teaching the importance of history at Midwestern universities. Every semester students would shuffle in to learn the significant events and figures that shape the dateline of human existence. History, he would instruct, teaches us lessons for today and for future generations. He would then stress the more profound lesson with a question - what is the most important history? The most important history, he would go on to say, is our own personal history.
Just as world history is significant to humanity; individual history is a treasure for family. It is these personal observations which would otherwise be forgotten and misunderstood if simply left to echo in scattered photos and objects. I have witnessed the power of shared personal stories and the impact that they have for the participants. There is sense of connectedness that comes in hearing the experiences of loved ones who have conquered love and sorrow, mastered fear, and reveled in the joy of life.
The process of relating these stories is significant for both the listener and the teller. The listener gains understanding through hearing of events told from a personal vantage. The story teller has the pleasure of engaging others in their life lessons and making tangible connections to their memories of the past.
At Storied Gifts we work with individuals to capture these invaluable insights and recollections. Through a series of recorded interviews, personal stories are archived and bound into heirloom books that thrill both the loved one and the family. Along with selected photos and mementos, and the stories they also tell, the final volume is a cherished gift that will span generations. It is an exciting privilege to play a part as a story collector and create these gifts of legacy.
Sherry Borzo, Personal Historian
Sherry's other projects:
Entrepreneur People Real Stories
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