If you were to capture the legacy of your life in one small story, what would that story be? And how would you write it? Alan Gelb, the author of Having The Last Say: Capturing Your Legacy in One Small Story, explored the subject with Gail Rubin on the latest A Good Goodbye Radio podcast.
As the baby boomer generation ages, its members are looking ahead to the biggest challenge of all: making sense of life in its third act. This segment of close to 40 percent of the U.S. population is feeling the march of time and seeing their contemporaries start to die.
Author Alan Gelb, a writing coach who also wrote the best-seller Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, helps readers construct brief narratives that can share formative experiences and values – also known as an ethical will.
If you’ve ever sat in a memorial service and thought, “I wish I could hear the voice of this person one more time,” a “last say” story can help fulfill that wish.
In this FuneralRadio.com interview, Gail Rubin and Alan Gelb discuss:
- Why writing a “last say” is important – a keepsake that can help others understand who you are and who you were, and serve as a personal statement to be read at your own memorial service, if you so choose.
- How to write a 500-1,000 word “last say.” It starts with pondering questions about key moments in your life.
- What the process of writing a compelling short story about one’s own life involves.
Gelb also reads his own “last say” story, about himself, his son and his father, and lessons learned about doing the right thing.