What can we learn from a woman who wrote in her personal journal for over fifty-five years? My dear friend recorded her thoughts and feelings and the events of her life every day from the time she was thirteen years old until she could no longer write. She was more diligent in daily journal writing than anyone I have ever met. What an inspiration she is! Her son recounts the influence of his mother’s journals on generations of family members in this video found on The Family History Guide’s YouTube channel:

In a past blog post I wrote about the benefits of keeping a journal:

Keep Your Personal Journal— Of the hundreds of reasons to write about your life, perhaps one of the most important is to Document your life, both for yourself and for generations to come.  Alan Henry, the author of the blog Lifehacker, researched how keeping a journal has additional great benefits you can enjoy immediately. He suggests the following reasons why you might want to sit down regularly to jot down your thoughts (read more about them here). Henry explains that regular writing has mental health benefits such as providing a safe, cathartic release valve for the stresses of your daily life. Keeping a journal helps harness creativity, and helps you deal with traumatic, stressful, or otherwise emotional events. It’s been specifically effective for people with severe illnesses, like cancer. In addition, Henry explains that regular writing has practical benefits – “serving as a reminder of mistakes you’ve made, accomplishments you’re proud of, and great moments you want to remember…You don’t have to be a creative worker to appreciate looking back over the things you did well and the things you need to work on. Seeing your own mistakes before they’re pointed out to you is a great thing, and documenting your achievements makes sure they’re never overlooked.” Simply put, journal writing can improve your life in remarkable ways! Find more inspiration and ideas here.

Learn how to upload documents (including journal entries) to FamilySearch with instructions found in the Family History Guide Project 2 “Memories.” Write away–your posterity will be blessed because of your efforts, and so grateful to know YOU through your journals.