Your Life, Your Story

It's all about the third act.

Another friend died a few weeks ago. This happens more regularly as we age. We come and we go …

As a writer, I’m familiar with the standard three act story structure and I notice that most of us don’t fully develop our third act before we leave. This is where we harvest the gifts of our lives and concentrate them into meaning, the reason we came, the value we will leave behind in this world when we transition to the next one.

As I help people write their memoirs, it’s fascinating to notice how their third act more or less writes itself. It emerges from the memories they recall that we transcribe and edit. Patterns appear, often surprising, revealing consistent choices, roads not taken, relationships that developed the way prior ones did, almost as if there was some kind of design to it all!

Besides producing a wonderful memento for family and friends, the process is a remarkably effective form of therapy. We all have memories that anchor emotional residue. The simple act of remembering, shining the light of mature awareness into our past to illuminate what’s there often reveals buried treasure. Healing happens, not because we wrestle with trauma but simply because we observe, feel, forgive, express gratitude, and let go.

My partner Chris and did a podcast about this and here’s the link. And here’s the link to our website if you’re curious.

Click on the link above, not on the video thumbnail.

Enjoy! And I hope I’m encouraging you to consider reviewing your life in some way. We obviously can’t help that many people personally so we are developing DIY materials. Until then, get a start by beginning a daily journal. You’ll be so glad you did down the road, when the time is right to write your life.