Keeping Personal History Alive
Capturing family histories before they are lost and forgotten is Elizabeth Wright's business.

"I help people put together their life stories so they can be passed along to future generations," says Wright, who has operated an oral history business called History in Progress for the past 20 years.

"If you don't tell your life story, it vanishes. And you may be the only person who has information about previous generations in your family," she adds. "It's important that people get this information down before it's too late."

Wright's clients often come to History in Progress, based in San Francisco, after their children or grandchildren urge them to record their history. "Family members know they'll be interested in this history down the road," says Wright, an active member of the Association of Personal Historians who also teaches autobiographical writing classes.

Although she has had numerous corporate and community clients - including C & H Sugar, the City of Sunnyvale and the Herbst Foundation - Wright spends much of her time working with individuals, most of whom are seniors.

Relating their stories is often therapeutic for individuals, says Wright, who tapes interviews that continue over the course of several meetings. "Almost everyone who does this comes away feeling lighter," she says. "It's like cleaning out your emotional closet. When you tell your story, you a have chance to reflect on the past and to resolve things. The process sometimes even inspires people to contact their old friends."

Wright also describes the experience as confidence building for many people. "People say to themselves, 'Wow, I really did a lot of great things, didn't I?' They end up recognizing what productive lives they've led and still lead," she says.

After transcribing the interviews and developing a narrative version of a client's life story, Wright usually produces a hardbound book of 100 to 150 pages. History in Progress charges $15,000 to $20,000 for production of a hardbound book, but lower-cost alternatives (such as audio tapes) are available.

Elizabeth A. Wright can be reached by phone at (415) 928-3417 or by email at Elizabeth@HistoryInProgress.com.

(This article originally appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Bay Area Summit)

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