Westport, CT – Being shut in does not mean having to be shut out. In fact, just the opposite is true for those looking to preserve their life story in a meaningful and long-lasting way. The telephone could be the link that lets you preserve your life story.
The Legacy Project USA, based in Westport, has been documenting and preserving people’s life stories for 11 years. One of the “means of production” is the telephone. Rozanne Gates, co-owner of The Legacy Project USA along with Suzanne Sheridan, conducts as many interviews with the client on the telephone as is necessary to get the whole story.
One of the many cross-country telephone conversations between the Legacy Project USA and the client was with a man who had been born in Libya and grew up with Omar Ghadaffi. After getting his story down (his son had actually approached us about doing his father’s Legacy), the son heard nothing but praises from his father about how much he enjoyed and needed to do this. The son then asked us to do the same with his mother and to have the Legacy book include the story of both of his parents. We were told that both the mother and father shed tears of gratitude upon receiving their Legacy book.
“I was thinking about this today actually, and I know what you are doing is very significant. Everyone matters and everyone has a story to tell. After all, you can’t escape life no matter how hard you try, and in that lies a story,” said Westport resident and author Prill Boyle.
What Sheridan and Gates have concluded is that a growing number of people are looking for ways to pass along more than money and possessions to the next generation. A person’s life history, in the form of an audio or video recording, documentary photo album, or authored biography, are ways that help individuals create personal legacies for their loved ones that are beautiful and lasting. This is what The Legacy Project USA does.
Gates recorded the life story of longtime Weston resident Ed Johnson in 12 hours of audio interviews. Johnson’s wife, Jeri, knew that her husband had only a very short time to live. She was intent on having her husband’s story documented and approached the Westport Public Library for a reference to a company that could help in the matter. The Westport Public Library referred her to The Legacy Project USA. A first meeting took place and the project got underway immediately. The first recording took place in July 2010. Ed Johnson passed away 5 weeks later. But, thanks to Jeri’s determination, he was able to tell his life story so his children and grandchildren would have a fuller understanding of his earlier life and why he had made some decisions he had made. His book, “A Tale of Courage in Red, White, and Blue” is now in the Weston Library.
Financial planner Craig Meadows of The Meadows Group for Northwestern Mutual Finance said of the services provided by The Legacy Project USA, “They have really helped me preserve memories of my family and have interviewed many of my aunts and great aunts. Now their stories are protected. I’ve heard when someone dies it is like a wing of a library closing as you lose so much information about history. Now that I’ve hired them countless times, I feel like I am stemming that tide a bit.”
In addition to the upsurge in interest in documenting life stories by the growing senior community, people are also finding creative ways to apply the services of The Legacy Project USA. Milestone events such as holidays and anniversaries are also moments to consider doing a Legacy Project. The gift that will have an impact for many generations to come is the life story of someone you hold dear or consider telling your own life story so that those who are dear to you will have the benefit of your knowledge. The most important thing anyone has to give is the story of his or her own life.
To start your Legacy interview, call 203-222-1441 and visit the website at https://thelegacyprojectusa.com.
