Why I Teach About Ethical Wills

Many instructors can teach students the mechanics of writing a cohesive story. Some can help writers ferret out individual stories from their lives. However, my forte is combining both of these aspects of personal storytelling to create a compelling ethical will.

My goal is to educate people about ethical wills and how writing one creates an enduring legacy. Many of them are looking for ways to ensure their lives have been worth living and of importance to future generations—they want to be remembered.

During my writing workshops, students learn how to evoke powerful memories by drawing from their life experiences, how to examine their thoughts and select a subject, and how to write a cohesive story. The final step is to create a compelling tale that resonates with their loved ones, who are recipients of the ethical will.

Feedback from my ethical wills workshops has been positive. When participants complete a workshop and walk out with their first ethical will in their hands, I know I’ve made a difference in their lives.

Ready to start your own ethical will? Consider joining my free teleclass on Thursday:

CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#

Thursday 11/17/11 8 PM Eastern / 7 PM Central / 6 PM Mountain / 5 PM Pacific
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will vs a Last Will?

Family Stories - Will You Wait Too Long?

Four years ago, I became a Personal Historian, after taking some creative writing and memoir writing classes and joining the Association of Personal Historians (APH). As I started to get more clients, I noticed a disturbing trend: my subjects had a tendency to die.

Most of the life stories I’ve written have been about elderly people. I learned very quickly to determine the most important topics to be covered before staring any interviews, then address them first. Obviously, none of us know just how long we’ll live, but older people most likely have less time remaining. However, we can lose anyone at any age.

By the end of my first year in business, I was becoming discouraged—not because I didn’t have enough clients, but because the majority of them had passed away. To be honest, I almost felt like the Grim Reaper. For a while, I contemplated whether I was in the right field. During the interviewing and writing processes, it was easy for me to get involved with my subjects, through the good and the bad in their lives. When they died, I was terribly saddened.

One of my clients died very suddenly, but peacefully. I had just completed the interviews and written her story; all that remained was to finish pulling in the photographs I had scanned. After talking to the daughter who had commissioned me, we decided to complete her mother’s story in a booklet for the family, which I did two days later.

At the wake the next day, the family made me feel that my efforts were not only worthwhile, they were greatly appreciated. Without the stories I had preserved, the children and grandchildren would never have known some of the details from the woman’s life.

I continue to write life stories for people and encourage them to write their own. The important thing is to preserve those precious family stories before they are lost forever. None of us know exactly how much time we have. Make an effort to start saving your own family stories now, while you still can.

Are you ready to start now? Please consider coming to some of our weekly teleclasses, where we can talk about easy ways to find your own stories.

November Teleclass Schedule for Ethical Wills

CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

November Teleclass Schedule For Ethical Wills

CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Thursday 11/17/11 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / NOON PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will vs a Last Will?

Tuesday 11/22/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: Why Write an Ethical Will?

Wednesday 11/30/11 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / NOON PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

More details about Ethical Wills at www.bethlamie.com

Teleclass Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Teleclass Wednesday, July 6 at 8 PM ET.

TOPIC: Why Write an Ethical Will?

Dial-In: 712-432-0900
Access: 197851#

Find PEACE OF MIND -
leave a PIECE OF YOUR MIND in a Legacy Letter!

Revised Teleclass Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Welcome! Join us for a teleclass on Ethical Wills
WHY? Two great reasons:
1) You can learn about FREE and easy ways to leave a legacy letter or Ethical Will for your loved ones.
2) Your input will help me fine-tune material for my new book, Ethical Wills the Easy Way.

Dial-In: 712-432-0900
Access: 197851#

Tuesday, June 21, 2 PM ET
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Calls last 45 minutes, with time for questions at the end.
Your participation is welcome.

If you cannot attend the live call, a recording will be available later.

Teleclass Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Welcome! Join us for a teleclass on Ethical Wills

Dial-In: 712-432-0900
Access: 197851#

Tuesday, June 21, 2 PM ET
TOPIC: Ethical Will vs. Last Will vs. Living Will

Calls last 45 to 60 minutes & your participation is welcome.

If you cannot attend the live call, a recording will be available later.

Start Your Stories

Are you having a problem getting started with your own family stories? You may have very good intentions, but not know exactly how to proceed. Every month, I offer FREE teleclasses on just that topic.

In case you aren't aware, a teleclass is a class that is taught over a telephone. People call into a specific phone number at a set time and enter an Access Code followed by a "#". In my case, the Call-in number is 308-344-6400, Access Code 300645#. Normal long-distance charges will apply, but there is no cost for the actual class.

If you would like to attend, but the day or time is not convenient, please let me know. I am open to adding more teleclasses to fit a variety of schedules. My goal is to encourage people to capture their family stories before it is too late.

Everyone has a story to tell. What is yours?

Teleclasses on Writing Family Stories

Upcoming Teleclasses

Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone else who might be interested in family stories. To join our mailing list, please visit www.bethlamie.com.

All teleclasses are Eastern Time & last for 45-60 minutes

Dial-In numbers: 308-344-6400 Access: 300645#

Mon. 3/9/09 8:00 PM ET - What Are Family Stories?

Weds. 3/11/09 11:00 AM ET - Getting Started with Family Stories

Th. 3/19/09 4:00 PM ET - Encouraging Kids to Write Family Stories

Mon. 3/23/09 8:00 PM ET - Biography vs Autobiography

Weds. 3/25/09 11:00 AM ET - Handling Controversial Topics

Your participation is welcome!

Visit my website at www.bethlamie.com.