Memoirs by Maureen

Life Storyteller, Maureen Klues

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When you are with family on Thanksgiving and the discussion of what to get mom, or what to get dad, or the person who has everything - consider a group gift of life storytelling.

This is one of the best ways to utilize life storytelling as it is a really thoughtful anf unique gift for the person recieving it, but also a gift for everyone in their life - to be gifted with memories they can treasure and share for generations.

AND what better time would there be to work on this project? Once the holiday hubub has died down and the long winter months begin in January it us a perfect way to kick off the new year.

Reach out to me on Friday to lock in your discount! #holidaymemories #familyhistory #yourstory #blackfriday

Can a life storytelling project take place remotely?

Absolutely!

The only thing done differently is the interview, which is conducted on a video call or by simply picking up the phone for an old fashioned phone call. ☎️

Tonight, I interviewed someone from Denver. And it was just as relaxed and effective as an in person interview.

The majority of my interviews tend to be within an hour radius of my hometown, but that is just word of mouth at work, they don’t have to be.

Life storytelling travels well. Reach out for more details.

Missing the phone can sometimes give me the best testimonials. Here is another voicemail from a client, this time after getting the email with their story draft.

Why is life storytelling such a great gift? 🎁

Everyone is always so surprised how a conversation about their life and a pile of pictures turns into such a wonderful keepsake.

Christmas gift certificates are now available! Send me a message and we can chat about it. 💚 ❤️ 💚

This is part of a voicemail a client left me last year around this time.

It reminds me that there is nothing better than hearing the surprise at how much someone enjoys opening their book and seeing the finished product for the first time.

Life storytelling is a journey and at times it can be difficult to picture the end result, but when we get there..it is magical. ✨

Christmas life storytelling gift certificates are now available. 🎁

Congratulations to @bella_ease for celebrating 10 years! It was amazing to see all of the 12 completed ‘Bella Ease Voices’ books featured on the screen.

At an event for Bella Ease last year at this time, Dick Thompson was a featured guest speaker. He talked about his life and telling his story.

He passed away a few months later. In the last year of his life he was able to step back and take a look at the big picture of his life and then share his life story with family, friends, and church community.

Why? Because Bella Ease made it a priority. To remember. To capture and honor his memories.

Being involved with an organization that is creating such lasting impact, and telling the story of those who have impacted our community over the last 80+ years - I can’t really think of anything better than that.

This is the cover of Jim & Ann’s book, in partnership with @photographyrachelb. Rachel took some new photos of Jim, Ann, and their adorable dog Millie to include in their story.

This was such a fun project. It is always so rewarding to tell two individual stories and then reach that moment in time where those two stories collide and blend into one story.

Some interesting things I learned along the way: There was a time that you could order a monkey from a magazine and it would be delivered in a box with your mail.

Second, the band that played at Jim and Ann’s wedding reception was my father-in-law’s band. I enjoyed telling him how they said the older crowd in attendance thought they were too loud.

Lastly, what is the secret to Jim and Ann’s success? They always put the other person first. It sounds simple, but how often do we forget to do that?

There are so many things we learn from life storytelling. I take away life lessons every time, even though it isn’t my family I am learning about. It is 10X more impactful when you learn about a loved one in your life. I have said a million times, and I will continue to say it, life storytelling is one of the coolest gifts you can give or recieve.

If you have thought about gifting life storytelling to someone you love, I would suggest a gift certificate for the holidays. Why?

No one ever suspects a gift like this. It is unexpected and all of a sudden it starts lots of conversations about family history, funny memories, questions about where that box of old photos went, and the list goes on.

The finished product of a book is just part of the gift. The gift begins the minute you start talking about it. 🎁

As Bella Ease prepares to celebrate their 10 year anniversary, here is a sneak peek at the ELEVENTH Bella Ease Voices story. 🎉 And it won’t be the last. Stay tuned!

🍁 On this first day of fall it is the perfect time to start thinking about gifting life storytelling for the holidays.

About 75% of my life storytelling clients are those that are gifted life storytelling sometime over the holiday season.

It’s a perfect gift to go under the tree because:

1) It is a wonderful surprise. No one ever expects to have a book written about them.

2) It is a gift that keeps on giving through the winter months and into the spring, as the family all works together through the storytelling process.

What better time to go through family photos and edit the story than on a cold winter evening? I find that January - April tends to be when most people have more time to work on it.

3) The finished product of the book will be completed before Mother’s or Father’s Day or anniversaries in the spring, summer, or fall.

🎄 I will be able to gift 10 gift certificates this holiday season. 🎄

If you are interested in gifting life storytelling reach out soon for more information.🎁

PS All of this being said, I do life storytelling year round and whenever I am asked when the best time in LIFE is to do life storytelling my answer always is, “Right now!”

📖 Storytelling can be a magical experience. 💫

Putting a story together is even more special when it is for a friend or family member and I am able to see the words come to life when it is shared with loved ones, as it was this last weekend at DeAnna and Jeff’s wedding.

Life storytelling never has a clear beginning or end because sometimes the story is at the start, often times it is looking back at a long lived life, or it can be right in the middle of it all.

And ALL of these phases of life are equally worthy of being captured on the pages of a book.

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” -Semisonic, Closing Time

🥂 Cheers to the beginning of DeAnna and Jeff’s story together.

Book delivery to the Fross family today!

I have always thought they were such a fun family and after telling Denny & Diana’s story I see how hard they worked to build a family unit that values hard work, family, their faith, and always having an open door to friends and neighbors.

Denny & Diana have an amazing story and I hope their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and beyond, treasure their story for years to come.

My biggest hope is that fifty years from now someone opens a dusty box in an attic and stumbles upon one of these life storybooks and realizes they found a forgotten treasure. That they turn the pages and think, “Wow, that person looks like my mom/dad/sister/brother/ME!”

Or they read some advice or words of wisdom and they realize someone else has given them that very advice or told them a different version of the story they are reading.

Getting the stories into a book is capturing those moments in time we forget; memories our loved ones have long forgotten. These books are a gift for you and your family now, in this moment, but they are also a gift for people in your family that you may never meet, but they will get to know a little about you and where they came from. How cool is that?

Three years ago I did my first “practice” storybook for my wedding. Three years later, here is another love story for a friend that has played a big part in my story.

Congratulations DeAnna and Jeff - your story is just beginning!

*photo credit 📸: Katie Pellman

Earlier this summer I posted about books I planned to read. A few library renewals later I am picking up book number two.

Book number one traveled in the car with me on our family vacation to Pennsylvania, sat by the pool, rested on the bedside table in the cabin, but was not actually read until we returned.

Lazy Saturday mornings seem far and few between lately, but how nice when they make an appearance.

Reading two books over the course of a summer is not stellar, BUT finishing up four life stories - not too shabby.

Where did my life storytelling take me? Holland, Brooklyn, Germany, Colorado, rural Illinois, and home sweet home Quincy.

What are you reading this summer? 📚

When I don’t feel like writing it is usually because I haven’t been reading. A trip to the library is how I reconnect to myself and recommit to making reading a priority.

Why is it important?

Roxanne Gay says it best, “Salvation is certainly
among the reasons I read. Reading and writing have always pulled me out of the darkest experiences in my life. Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better
possible worlds.”

A few years ago I grabbed a box of date night cards as a Christmas stocking stuffer for my husband. Every time we have a date night we take a handful of questions with us to dinner or drinks and then we write the date and location on the back of the card. We are still working our way through.

Sometimes the questions seem silly or written to generate an argument, and other times they create great conversation. It’s literally luck of the draw.

Tonight, we had two questions about childhood and I very much like this question. So much so, I think I’ll add it to my life storytelling interview question list.

I never stick to a script during interviews but let the conversation lead the way. Some questions are great jumping off points to digging a little deeper, past the facts of your life.

QUESTION: What have you lost from childhood that you would like to regain?

For me, it is feeling like there are endless possibilities, that truly anything is possible. As we get older we often create our own barriers and walls and think “it’s too late.”

After 60+ interviews I should know better. It is never too late to: try something new, mend a relationship, find love, forgive yourself, forgive others, find purpose, appreciate life, experience something magical, and the list goes on.

✨So, think about what the childhood version of you would want you to remember…take that thought…and make some magical memories this summer. ✨

Marianne arrived in New York City almost 70 years ago, July 29, 1954. She traveled from Holland with her parents, her ten brothers and sisters, and Felix, the family cat. And this was really just the beginning of her story.

Marianne chose a photo for the cover of her book that was originally published in Look Magazine. The magazine sent two journalists to capture the image and story of the family beginning their new life in Minneapolis.

This story was such a wonderful experience that gave me the opportunity to be transported to a different time and place through Marianne’s memories. How cool is that?

I hope Marianne’s family finds her story just as magical and inspiring as I did.

Today marks THREE years of life storytelling with SIXTY stories told! Thank you to everyone that has entrusted me with their memories. ❤️

Yes, I’m still doing life storytelling! I haven’t posted any updates in a while because…SPRING. Otherwise known as the busiest time of year.

I’m currently finishing up four stories and this one ☝️ is almost complete. This is the most recent installment of the “Bella Ease Voices” series. Isn’t the cover great?!?

Sam had a photoshoot around the same time we were working on her story and I thought this image was perfect in communicating her personality and what she is looking for in life.

Life storytelling is about looking back on the big picture of your life but it is just as much about looking forward.

In a recent interview I asked someone, If you could go back to any age, what would it be? His answer was, “This one.”

Life storytelling IS a way to capture your memories for your loved ones but it is also just as much for you, for your life right now. For FUTURE you.

Sam is working on “Finding the Light.”

What would you find in the life storytelling experience?

Heading into year three of storytelling, I pick two special fundraisers every year to support. The first one is coming up next Friday, QMG’s Cancer Crush! This event holds a special place in my heart because in 2022 I was able to tell the Cancer Crush story - the story of Ted Tappe, through the vantage point of his family.

If you are attending the event, consider the live auction package @photographyrachelb and I put together - a photoshoot with Rachel 📸 and storytelling with me.📖

Why tell your story? The Cancer Crush event is about strength, hope, resilience, and remembering those we love. ❤️ YOUR story is unique and should be celebrated. 🎉

A nice afternoon of interviews getting to know the Fross family. ❤️

Letters to Rosalie is one of the most beautiful stories I have been honored to tell. Rosalie lived a perfect life surrounded in love, and this book is filled with letters to Rosalie from the family that loved her. From her parents’ love story to her birth story, her family shares in the joy of her life and sends these letters to Rosalie, until they meet again. Pictured is the cover of the book, featuring Rosalie’s mother. **This is shared with the permission of the family.**

With snow on the ground and Christmas tree lights still twinkling through windows, the holiday dust has barely settled.

While it is the coldest and the quietest time of year, consider a special gift this Valentine’s Day for someone you love with a life storytelling gift certificate.

Instead of considering this year’s holiday a chore, think of it an opportunity to surprise your partner, your parent(s), or grandparent(s) with a gift that will never always be treasured- their memories. ❤️

Reach out to see how you can get a gift certificate by Valentine’s Day. 🎁

Another special story completed just in time for Christmas! 🎄 This life story (and wonderful love story) was gifted to children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 🎁

As I take a look back at all of the stories that have been told in 2023, it is overwhelming. When you are in the middle of it editing, designing, printing, and delivering books- the big picture of it all isn’t top of mind.

I tend to think I’m not doing as many stories as I could, I’m not focusing on promotion, I need to be more creative- and the list goes on.

But then I take a look at the big picture. I see the person holding their finished book with a smile on their face. I consider the fact that over 100 book copies have been printed this year, and I know I’m doing something good. Something worthwhile. Something lasting.

I have chosen the song “To Build a Home” before, and I am sure I will choose it again. Telling life stories is building a legacy. It is building a base, a home, for families to find reassurance and comfort in as years pass. Someday the person in the story will be gone but their memories will live on the book they built.

Many times this last year I have struggled with questioning if life my storytelling has been successful.

I find comfort in the fact that someday, in the bottom of a dusty box, someone will take out one of these books, dust it off, and learn about the family that came before them. These life stories keep memories alive.🩵

Merry Christmas! Here is another story that was gifted to family for the holidays. There is no better gift than learning more about those you love. A life storybook often tells you everything you never knew you should know about someone. It is the big moments, the funny little details, and everything in between. It’s a wonderful gift any time of year, but extra special at Christmastime. 🎄 🎁

Christmastime is a mad dash of finishing up stories to get printed and under the tree while at the same time sending out gift certificates to surprise family members with the gift of life storytelling.

Yesterday I let out a sigh of relief as the last package arrived with books for Christmas. I am happy to revel in the completed projects for a few days and then the process begins again when I start on new projects in 2024.

I thought over this holiday weekend I would share a few stories with you, as soon as they have been gifted and I have the all clear.

As always, unless a specially promoted story for an organization, I only share the cover of the book (with permission) and keep the content of the story for the family to share and treasure.

Judy’s story was a project that began in the summer and sometimes I walked to her house on nice sunny days as the project progressed.

Judy captured her story for her children and grandchildren. I often have clients print a copy for each child and grandchild (and sometimes great grandchild) and they are always pleasantly surprised when a grandchild asks them more about a certain story or their life. THAT outcome is what life storytelling is all about. ❤️

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Featured Story

Shared in Memory of Richard Elsenpeter

April 30, 1927 - July 10, 2024

Life storytelling was gifted to Richard, to memorialize his life, by his son, Richard (referred to in this book as "Rich," as his father called him).

This story captures Richard's full life story from his childhood to his journey to Hollywood in various acting troops, his many years of travel in tent shows, his long-time vocation as a puppeteer, and his wildly successful creation and ten years run of The Possum Holler Opry live television show.

Through it all, Richard credits his acting career, and his family, to his strong faith and belief that love conquers all. This story is told in his words, with contributions from his son, Rich.

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"I feel so deeply that ALL OF OUR STORIES MATTER. Being a human is wild. Life is hard and hilarious, and stories help us make sense of the chaos and contradictions built into life. There are as many stories to be told as there are humans here – each slant is a part of the whole."

-excerpt from my interview with Rebekah Taussig, author of Sitting Pretty, for the Quincy Public Library

Rebecca Taussig

Bring Your Organization's Story to Life

In addition to life storytelling, Maureen also works with organizations to tell their story through compelling content that brings their organization's story to life.

Learn More Here

Why Tell Your Story?

Your story matters. Preserving your memories is a rewarding experience for you, and a wonderful gift to those you love. Pulling out old photos, accessing long ago stories in the recesses of your mind, and revisiting pivotal points in your life helps you see the big picture of life. Your purpose. The meaning of your life.

Exceptional work! 5-STARS for sure! Maureen Klues did a beautiful job with my Dad's storybook for Cancer Crush! Thank You sooooo much for this forever treasured keepsake, Maureen!

L.T.

Meet Maureen

Life Storyteller

My passion for a good story began as a child when I would escape into a pile of library books. This continued into my adulthood where I somehow or another gravitated to telling people's stories throughout my career path, from testimonials from those on hospice, to college alumni success stories, to chronicles of faith and perseverance.

Now I have the honor to craft and complete life storybooks to be shared with families for generations. I can't wait to tell your story!

Contact Maureen

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What is the story you want to tell?

You might want to get your own life story down on paper, capture a loved one's memories, commemorate an anniversary, reflect on childhood, or pay tribute to someone you have loved and lost. Every story is unique and just waiting to be told.

Why utilize this service?

It is possible to write your own story, but it can often feel overwhelming as to where to start. If you are wanting to capture your memories or a loved ones story, purchasing this service will ensure that this happens.

Maureen has developed a life storytelling system that is an easy step by step process to tell the story you want to tell. She asks you the right questions in your interview and then SHE crafts your story for you, utilizing your exact words. Maureen will put the story together and you will have a professionally written and designed book in a matter of weeks.

Contact Maureen

Storytelling Process

Determine Story Focus

The first step is determining the story you want to tell. Is it your story or a story you want a loved one to share? Is it an overview of a life, or zoning in on a particular phase of life? Once the focus is established, Maureen will develop the questions for the interview.

Conduct Interview

The interview with the main person(s) being featured is usually in person. Sometimes, if a collaboration, the interview questions are completed in written form. However the interview(s) are conducted, once they are completed, Maureen starts crafting your story.

Design Storybook

After the interview has taken place, Maureen will start designing your book. What do you do during this phase of the project? Gather photos! Send Maureen up to 25 photos to choose from to compliment your story.

Review Story

Once Maureen has written the story and you have provided the photos to integrate into the finished product, Maureen will send you a draft of the book to review and submit any requested changes.

Order Your Book!

Once you have approved the final design of your book, Maureen will order your book. You can order as many books as you would like, and family and friends have the opportunity to order books at any time. In addition, you will receive an electronic copy that can share and print.

Popular Storybook Options

Event Storybook

Looking for the perfect gift for someone in your life? Share your story to celebrate an engagement, wedding, anniversary, graduation, Mother's Day, and the list goes on.

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