“After air, food, and water, the thing we most need is that our lives mean something.”  Daniel Taylor

Daniel Taylor is a writer, author, speaker and traveler. He is also a storyteller. I first sat in a workshop with Taylor at the Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His message and his book Tell Me a Story: The Life-Shaping Power of Our Stories lit the passion in me to encourage others to capture and share life stories.

Another person who first inspired me to share stories is my husband’s Auntie Em. Long before I thought of writing Dad’s book about growing up during The Great Depression and all the jobs he’s held in his lifetime, Emily Dunafin wrote and self-published two little books that preserved a bit of her family’s legacy.

The Apron Mama Wore is a collection of Poems Inspired Through Family Love. My family received a copy of this slim volume of Emily’s poetry as a Christmas gift 20 years ago. The poems are reminiscences of “simpler times” and reflect Emily’s humor and wit.

Emily’s second book, Just Like You, is a children’s book that tells a special story of a special grandson. Both of her books are a beautiful example of unique ways to share our life stories.

I hope you’ll join me at 10 a.m. EST on Monday, October 22 when Emily and I sit down to chat live on Facebook. We’ll be talking about the importance telling family stories and how she came to write her books. You’ll be able to catch us here: https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.lochamire

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Life stories knit us together, whether to family or to others who just need to know they are not alone. In these 31 days of October, I’ll be exploring the importance of STORY. You can read all 31 days by following the links under “31 Days of Story”. And, you can read blogs from other writers taking the #Write31Days challenge by visiting the website here.

Tomorrow: Telling Stories To Raise Awareness