NARRATIVE PORTRAITS works with clients to create audio recordings of oral history interviews that highlight each person's storytelling style and the distinctive quality of their voice. Sometimes a NARRATIVE PORTRAIT celebrates and illustrates the many rich experiences that comprise a long and full lifetime. Recording a Life Story gives people the opportunity to explore what has been most meaningfu
l in their life and to achieve a deeper understanding of what they have lived through. Family members and others who know the storyteller enjoy listening to these Life Stories and feel a sense of security in knowing their loved one’s memories have been collected and preserved for posterity. Other times a specific milestone in a person's life may be the reason to record a NARRATIVE PORTRAIT as in the case of Birth Stories. In this instance new parents can rejoice in, record and reflect on the powerful experience of pregnancy and giving birth. Preserving these compelling memories for oneself and others is an added benefit of recording a Birth Story. Upon occasion a client is interested in creating a NARRATIVE PORTRAIT because they are facing a critical juncture in their life and they would like to engage in a Life Review. In these instances where a person may be facing a life threatening or life altering illness or condition, recording a NARRATIVE PORTRAIT can be cathartic and strengthen them in facing their challenges. A Life Review also provides clients with the opportunity to create a record of their experiences and their values for their loved ones to have and is similar to an ethical will in its scope and focus. At NARRATIVE PORTRAITS I work with my clients and their families to help them tell all these types of stories and to do so in the most relaxed and rich way possible, by skillfully talking with them about their lives in a process that often leads to new discoveries.
