"It is (our life story) after all, the only
treasure, the only heirloom we have to leave -- our own little grain of truth. Truth that is locked up in the
heart -- or in a diary is sterile. It must be given back to life."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"You are our living link to the past. Tell your grandchildren the story of
the struggles waged, at home and abroad. Of sacrifices made for freedom's sake. And tell them your own story
as well -- because [everybody] has a story to tell."
Former Pres. George H.W. Bush, State of the Union address, 1990
Why should you tell your
story?
If you would like your life to be preserved for your grandchildren and
their grandchildren, then you have already taken a first step by coming towww.web-biography.com and its award-winning journalist and author, Don
Canaan.
Canaan's news background covers four decades of history -- from 1960 until
his retirement in 2005. From 1961-1984, Canaan edited news film and documentaries for NBC News in New York
and ABC News in Washington DC, as well as managing the NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center's TV Production
facility.
At Ohio State University's School of Journalism in Columbus, Ohio, Canaan
earned a master's degree in journalism and started working at various newspapers and United Press
International.
At the American Israelite. Canaan enterprised stories that brought kudos
from the community. The State of Ohio Bar Association awarded his four-part series, "Jews in Ohio's Prisons:
Does Anybody Care?" first place for best weekly journalism in Ohio.
And every weekday, Canaan compiles and editswww.israelnewsfaxx.com, a daily publication containing vital news from the Middle East. The
searchable text archives, dating to 1994, is available without charge atwww.israelnewsfaxx.com.
Every life is worth remembering
The gift of immortality can be yours with a professionally-written, illustrated web
biography. A free one-on-one interview will be placed on a web site. Interviewee-supplied photographs will be
scanned for use in the biography. A CD-ROM or DVD copy
of the web site can be made available.
Because every life is worth remembering,
We'll tell your story in your own words. But we will make it
come alive on the web site, making your life a great read. Preserving your life or that
of a loved one may be the best gift you can ever give.
No one will ever know that you utilized a professional journalist unless
you tell them.Life's victories, challenges, lessons and
passionsneed not be lost forever
Your grandchild asked you, "Grandma, what was it like when you were
growing up?"
Your teenage granddaughter asks, "How did you and grandpa meet and
what did your parents think of him?"
Your 70th birthday is coming up. and lately you've been feeling as
if you haven't really accomplished anything worthwhile.
The values and principles that you were brought up with seem to be
disappearing nowadays. You've decided that you want to record and pass to your
descendants what is important to you.
It seems as if so many momentous events have taken place during your
lifetime and that younger members of your family don't have any clue about how your
life or theirs was impacted by those events.
Years ago, an "incident" may have taken place with an old friend and
you never spoke with him or her again. Now you would like to clear the air and
reconcile those differences before you die.
Those who do not have power over the story of their lives,
power to retell it, rethink it, reconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change,
truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts.
Salman Rushdie
What do I do now?
Having a web biography written is dependent upon various things such as
complexity, length, amount of transcription, time spent scanning photographs, etc. A
free, basic web site includes web hosting for one year. An award-winning, published author will devote a considerable amount of time to
your project.
Be among the first to have your own biographical web
site
All it takes is one
generation to wipe out the values, memories and
traditions that we
inherit.
How
well do you remember your parents or
grandparents?
Where were they born?
Where were their parents from?
What were their family traditions and
beliefs?
Where did they attend school?
Who were their friends?
How did they meet their spouse?
Were they in the Service?
Where did they work?
If you
would like to have this
information,
so would
your descendants.
Your life is your story but it is
also for your grandchildren and their
grandchildren.
We all possess memories. An
award-winning journalist will meet with you,
jar those memories loose and create an
affordable web site to house those
memories.
We have compiled a list of more than
350 questions to provoke your memories,
thoughts and ideas. Before your interview, we
will send you this list to help you recall
memories about family, career and other
important milestones. This list will also
help you prepare for your
interview.
What are your favorite authors,
movies and music? What about your favorite
times of the year? Think back to your school
days and to the day you first saw your
spouse.
Leaving your life story is leaving a
mark…a mark that shows our successes and
failures…our struggles and our hardships.
Those marks have defined us and it is a way
for others to remember us. Sharing who we
are, what we are about and what we believe
can provide a valuable personal history for
our descendants.
We will make sure that the
interviewee is comfortable and relaxed before
starting. This will result is an ensemble of
personal remembrances and memorabilia that
will tell the subject's
story.
You can tell us about your life in
the form of an inspirational story, lessons
learned, observations or just plain bragging.
And of course photographs or audio recordings
can be included in the web site and its
accompanying CD or DVD (that you can
use as an electronic book). And you can
inexpensively create, by yourself as
many copies as you want to present to living
relatives.
Throughout history, stories were
preserved and transmitted orally. But now, in
the 21st century, we can preserve your story
digitally to your own web site. Digital
recordings won’t fade with use or wear out
because the web site consists only of zeros
or ones. It can be saved to CD-ROM, DVD, a
computer hard drive or later may be
transferred to any newly-developed
technology.
Don Canaan, a
resident of The Villages, is an award-winning
news film and print journalist, as well as a
published non-fiction author. Notables
interviewed include actor Topol (Fiddler on
the Roof), comedian Jackie Mason,
assassinated JDL Rabbi Meir Kahane,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mike
Wallace.
Every evening, Sunday through
Thursday, Canaan compiles and edits
Israel News Faxx, a free newsletter
distributed to a selective worldwide
clientele, as well as posted at
www.israelfaxx.com
.
Don Canaan will spend time with you,
recording the conversation, as material for a
biographical web site for you and your loved
ones.
The biography will be tailored to
your wishes and, if desired, will depict you
in a positive, uplifting and memorable
manner.
So tell your story
for generations yet to
come.
What if your
ancestors had left you a biography, providing
you with a glimpse of their life that would
be available for generations yet
unborn?
Biographies can describe life
events, a specific topic (war
experiences, career, travel, family,
achievements), or a tribute to a friend or
loved one. Biographies need not contain
every memory. Its primary purpose is to
allow future generations to catch a glimpse
of grandparents or loved ones
describing their lives in their own
words.
And what about a loved one who is
still with us, but who is forgetting who he
is? Record his biography before Alzheimer's
takes over that beautiful mind. He will be
able to see and hear not only his life story,
but also those of his loved ones and
caregivers. They can show it to him to
assist him in remembering who they
are.
Biographies
are also ideal gifts
for:
Birthdays
Weddings
Graduation
Anniversary
Bar/Bat
Mitzvah
Corporate
events
Retirement
parties
Tribute or
Special recognition
It is one
of the most thoughtful and
memorable gifts that a person could
leave behind for future
generations.
To forget one's ancestors is to
be a brook without a source, a tree without a
root.
The Smiths were proud
of their family tradition. Their line had included
senators, pastors and Wall Street
wizards.
They
decided to compile a family history. They hired an
author. Only one problem arose: how to handle Uncle
George, who went to the electric chair. The
author
said not to worry, he could handle that
tactfully.
When
the book appeared, the family turned to the section
on Uncle George. There, they
read, "George Smith occupied a chair of applied
electronics at an important government institution.
He was attached to his position by the strongest of
ties. His death came as a great
shock."
My book, "Horror in Hocking County,"
a true crime story of an alleged satanic
murder in Ohio, can now be read at no charge
at
www.horrorinhockingcounty.com
.
.
(C) 2005-2006 Don Canaan, All rights reserved, except that subjects of biographies retain copyright to their stories
