About Us
~ Did you have a childhood pet?
~ Who was your favorite relative when
you were 10 years old?
~ How did you celebrate your
21st birthday?
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Recognizing the importance of honoring and protecting our past
for posterity, Homespun Legacy is committed to providing
individuals and families the necessary tools to preserve their
personal, family and community histories. We will provide these
tools -- knowledge, guidance and support -- through workshops,
seminars, and personal coaching.
These are the threads of your life
you can spin into whole cloth --
your life story.
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Every family has an archivist (a.k.a. packrat). In my family, I'm it!
I save every scrap of paper, from hand-scrawled Mother's Day
cards to movie tickets to wedding napkins. I was journaling back
when every entry began with "Dear Diary." I was scrapbooking
before it was a verb.
Homespun Legacy is a creation of
my heart, combining three of my
passions: history, writing and
teaching. For as long as I can
remember, personal stories have
captivated me. As time goes by, I
see these stories slipping from our
collective consciousness. Although
we can't store time in a bottle as the
late Jim Croce sang, we can pause
time by putting it on the page.
I want to do something
splendid...something
heroic or wonderful
that won't be forgotten
after I'm dead...I think I
shall write books.
Jo in Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
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I graduated with honor from the nationally acclaimed writing
program at Hollins University with course work in history and
sociology. One of my favorite projects was participating in the
Library of Congress' Veterans' Oral History Project through the
D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia.
The goal of
Homespun Legacy
is to preserve and
honor your history,
written
in your own words,
in a tangible format
you can enjoy
at any time or place
without the need of
technical equipment --
something you can hold
in your hands
and read to your
grandchildren,
your personal
homespun legacy.
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The first consultation is free.
The important thing is to begin.
Your life has magic and inspiration in it
for your children,
your grandchildren,
your grandchildren's grandchildren.
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Begin with the magic.
The Reading Woman Review
an occasional series of reflections
on memoirs and other books
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Need a speaker or presentation
for your next group meeting?
Please call (540-473-3998) or e-mail me
to discuss your needs.
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Gift from the Sea
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"I want first of all...to be at peace with myself."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, daughter of an American diplomat
and wife of renowned aviator, Charles Lindbergh, was a flyer in
her own right and, also, an award-winning writer. What I find
most remarkable about this book is that Anne Lindbergh voiced
these timeless concepts in 1955. It is still amazing to me that a
woman with her financial resources and status in the community
was struggling with the very same things I believe most women
do: raising children, maintaining relationships, finding time for
oneself, living a full life as a woman in this culture.
Gift from the Sea confirms the importance of relationships, of
realizing the ebb and flow of life, of the intermittency of
relationships. A good relationship needs to have that balance of
solitude and intimacy. Human beings grow and change and, if
they are true to each other and to themselves, they can accept
the changes in one another and within the relationship.
Each year that I read this book (which I try to do on vacation
every year), I bring away from Anne’s words a new
understanding of myself, and what I want from my life, balance
and simplicity, just as Anne Lindbergh did 50 years ago when
she first wrote these essays.
Reader's Note: My sister just 'gifted' me with the 50th anniversary edition. It
includes a poignant introduction by Anne's daughter, Reeve, who cared for
her mother at the end of her life.
Life being very short,
and the quiet hours of
it few, we ought to
waste none of them in
reading valueless books.
John Ruskin, 1865
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Coming March 2007
Graced Insights:
A Women's Lifewriting Retreat
Please click here for details.
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Copyright 2005 Susan Mason All rights reserved.
Your Historian
