MyBook Workshop
Microlearning on Youtube
Veterans, Seniors & Caregivers
📅 Stanford Medicine: Accelerator for Learning
🌐 MyBook.fyi | 📩 wen@GUIDEcaregiver.com
You're Invited: Write Your Story Before the Memories Fade
Listen. You've lived a long life. You've seen things, survived things, loved people, lost people, made decisions that mattered. And somewhere along the way, you probably thought: Someone should write this down.
Here's the truth: Someone should. And that someone is you.
Not because you're famous. Not because your life was perfect. But because your grandchildren—and their children—deserve to know where they came from. They deserve to hear your voice, see your face, understand what shaped you. And if you don't tell them, they'll never know.
This workshop is about getting your story out of your head and into the world—before time runs out.
What This Workshop Actually Does
Over four phases—each broken into short, manageable sessions—you'll work with your family to:
Remember the stories that matter (Phase 1)
Organize them into a real narrative (Phase 2)
Bring them to life with photos, videos, and your own voice (Phase 3)
Share them with the people you love, in a way that lasts (Phase 4)
By the end, you'll have a real book—printed, digital, or both—that carries your story forward. Not a box of random photos in the attic. A legacy.
Who This Is For
Retirees who want their grandchildren to know them
Veterans whose service stories deserve to be preserved
Seniors noticing memory changes and wanting to capture what they still remember
Adult children who want to help their parents tell their story before it's too late
Families looking to heal old wounds through honest storytelling
This works especially well for Chinese-American families bridging cultural and language gaps, but the method works for everyone.
The Four Phases (How This Actually Works)
Phase 1: Remember (4 Sessions, 10-15 Minutes Each)
You'll use simple, gentle prompts—read aloud or typed into an AI assistant—to help you remember:
The sensory details: What did your childhood home smell like? What sound did your mother's voice make when she was happy?
The turning points: When did your life change direction? What decision shaped who you became?
The people who mattered: Who loved you? Who taught you? Who did you lose?
The values you carry: What do you believe in? What did you learn the hard way?
For caregivers and family: You'll get your own set of prompts to help gather old photos, ask gentle questions, and protect emotional boundaries. You're not interrogating. You're listening.
For clinicians: If you're supporting a senior through this, you'll get quiet, respectful prompts to screen for cognitive or mood concerns—without turning the workshop into a medical exam.
What you'll have at the end: Raw memory transcripts—honest, emotional, real.
Phase 2: Organize (5 Sessions, 10-15 Minutes Each)
Now we take those memories and turn them into chapters. You'll work on:
Structuring your story: What's the opening scene? How do the chapters flow?
Character development: Who are the people in your story? What did they mean to you?
Thematic threads: What patterns run through your life? What lessons emerge?
Voice authenticity: Does this sound like you? Formal or conversational? Serious or funny?
The hard chapters: What do you want to say about loss, trauma, regret? How do you frame it with dignity?
For caregivers: You'll help clarify what the retiree wants emphasized and what they want protected.
For editors and clinicians: You'll review the narrative for coherence and identity integration—does the story hold together? Does it reflect a life lived with meaning?
What you'll have at the end: A structured manuscript with clear chapters, authentic voice, and emotional truth.
Phase 3: Bring It to Life (5 Sessions, 10-15 Minutes Each)
This is where your story becomes real. You'll work on:
Images: Using AI, we'll create visual scenes from your memories—or animate your old family photos so they come alive.
Video: Key moments can become short video scenes with your narration.
Audio: Record your voice reading passages, so your great-grandchildren can hear you.
Design: Choose the cover, the format (hardcover keepsake? Digital for sharing?), the look and feel.
Family tree and timeline: Visual aids that help readers understand who's who and when things happened.
For caregivers, editors, and publishers: You'll review for quality, accessibility (captions for deaf relatives, audio descriptions for blind ones), and technical readiness.
For clinicians: You'll assess whether the multimedia supports or overwhelms the retiree cognitively.
What you'll have at the end: A polished, beautiful book—print, digital, or both—with images, audio, and design that honor your story.
Phase 4: Share It (5 Sessions, Building a Legacy)
Your book is done. Now what? This phase is about making sure it matters.
Family reading circles: Who should read it first? What questions should they reflect on? How do you prepare them for the hard parts?
Youth engagement: How do your grandchildren (or great-grandchildren) connect with your story? What activities help them understand?
Family discussions: What conversations do you want this book to start? What healing might happen?
Traditions and recipes: Did you include family recipes with their stories? Traditions worth passing down?
Measurement: Did this work? Are family bonds stronger? Did your grandchildren learn something about themselves?
Long-term stewardship: Who becomes the "keeper" of this story as decades pass? How does it stay accessible for future generations?
For caregivers: You'll coordinate logistics, manage emotions, and facilitate family gatherings.
For clinicians and care teams: You'll measure wellbeing outcomes—did this reduce isolation? Strengthen identity? Improve family communication? Heal old wounds?
What you'll have at the end: A living legacy—not just a book on a shelf, but a family artifact that gets read, discussed, passed down, and added to over time.
Why This Works (The Research Behind It)
This isn't just sentimental. It's evidence-based.
For seniors who tell their stories:
Reduced depression and isolation
Improved cognitive function
Stronger sense of identity and control
Better mood and emotional wellbeing
For families who listen:
Youth who know their family history have higher self-esteem and better emotional regulation
Adolescents show increased resilience when facing challenges
Families report stronger bonds, better communication, and reduced conflict
Intergenerational programs reduce caregiver stress
Your story isn't just for you. It's medicine for your family.
The Tools (Simple, Not Fancy)
Perplexity AI: A simple assistant that asks you gentle questions and helps you remember. (Think of it as a patient interviewer who never interrupts.)
Notion: A free tool where your family can organize notes, photos, and chapters together.
AI image and video tools: To bring your memories to visual life—no tech skills required.
Your voice: Literally. We'll record you reading parts of your story.
No complicated software. No steep learning curve. Just you, your memories, and some gentle guidance.
What Makes This Different
It's built for real people. Not writers. Not tech experts. Just retirees and their families.
It respects your pace. 10-15 minutes at a time. No pressure. No deadlines.
It protects your dignity. You decide what to include, what to leave out, how to frame the hard parts.
It includes your family. Your adult children help. Your grandchildren read and respond. It's a shared project.
It's clinically grounded. Every prompt is based on reminiscence therapy research. Every outcome is measurable.
It creates something real. Not a box of photos. Not a half-finished journal. A book—printed, polished, preserved.
Before You Start
You'll need:
A free Perplexity account (2 minutes to set up)
A free Notion account (2 minutes to set up)
One memory to start with—anything. The smell of your grandmother's kitchen. The day you met your spouse. Your first job. Just one.
If you get stuck, email me. I'll help.
The Real Reason This Matters
One day—maybe soon, maybe not—you won't be here. And your grandchildren will wonder:
What was Grandma like when she was young?
What did Grandpa believe in?
Where did we come from?
What should I do when life gets hard?
If you don't answer those questions now, they'll never get answered.
This workshop is your chance to sit down, look back, and say: This is who I was. This is what I learned. This is what I want you to know.
That's not optional. That's sacred.
Sign Up
You ready? Bring your adult child if you can. Bring a spouse. Bring a friend who also has a story to tell.
We'll spend these sessions getting your story out of your head and into a form that lasts—so that when you're gone, the people who love you still know who you were.
This is the kind of work that matters. Not because it's easy. Because it's necessary.
See you there.
