Every Life is a Story

This is a book about living. Thirty people, in their own words, tell the story of how they  have navigated their lives. It is not a self-help manual; no five principles of successful behaviors  are offered. Their stories acknowledge that life is messy and unpredictable. With one delightful  exception, all are over fifty years old; the oldest is ninety-three. They are nurses, doctors, teachers, writers, ministers, auto  mechanics, scientists, gardeners, artisans, mothers, fathers, and more. Geographically, all live  near Charlottesville, Virginia, the writer's home. The words are the speakers, altered only as time shapes all memories. Their stories pulse with joy and optimism.

My objective was to accurately portray these selected lives. They were not to be my stories; they were to be the interviewees. This proved to be more devilishly difficult than I imagined.

The first obstacle was the nature of human speech. Everyday talk, the stuff of conversations, is not oratory with complete declarative sentences stacked in an orderly manner. Speech is full of pauses, coughs, yawns, and filler words (Ya know, so, like, say, and, and, and). 

Then, there is the challenge of what to include. Most interviews were  hours long and contained more than were included in the final story.

The interviews were transcribed using a voice recognition application. This wondrous technology simplified the process of gathering the speaker's words …. but also distorted them.. The mysterious “they” or perhaps “it”, was always present at the party.  

Words are powerful, but they are not the whole kit of human discourse; tone of voice, pace of speech, gestures, facial expressions, body language, eyes, pauses, and even perspiration are 

also communication tools. These are missing in these stories.

So much for the difficulties in crafting these narratives. Why read them? 

Alexander Pope wrote: “The proper study of mankind is man.” 

Living a life is a full-time  job.  These wonderful stories describe how thirty interesting people have managed the challenges of being human. The interviewees, with one delightful exception, are advanced  enough in age and experienced enough in life that their decisions and comments are worth our  attention. 

To share a life is a privilege herein offered.