Afrobituary
Afrobituary is my online, on-demand, pre-recorded course where I provide step-by-step guidance in how to draft your own obituary and also how to write them on behalf of others. The course also teaches how to produce 'griot' legacy letters to give as heirloom gifts and to help ensure that your wisdom, life lessons, and creativity is passed on to future generations!
You can access the course by visiting here.
Endorsed by former Washington Post Obituary editor
"I'm excited about Linda's course! I've seen too many families struggle to answer basic questions about their parents and siblings. Obituaries are more than an accounting of the sunrise and sunset of someone's life. It is a piece of history, a story well told, and a legacy for the next generation."
Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb,
Minister, Former Obituary Editor, Washington Post
What is Legacy Writing?
Legacy writing is the documentation of personal experiences, life lessons, and traditions with the purpose of passing them on to future generations. The writing can come in the form of legacy letters, personal essay and narrative, self-written obituaries, memoirs, poetry and journaling that you may decide to pass on.
Legacy writing that tells stories about the present and past, can help inform and shape the lives and values of future generations.
I am available to conduct legacy writing sessions for individuals and groups in person or via Zoom.
What are 'Griot' Legacy Letters?
'Griots" are storytellers, poets and musicians from West Africa who maintain the oral tradition of sharing and preserving their history. I call the legacy letters that I teach to people from the African diaspora 'griot' legacy letters as a nod to their tradition of preserving history through storytelling and passing them on. I want my students of griot legacy letters to be unabashed in communicating the culture, language, ideas and traditions of people of African descent.
How to conduct 'trauma-informed' life story interviews with family members
Collecting oral history from family members, who may have had traumatic past experiences, requires an extra layer of sensitivity. This blog from the Writing Doula offers advice on how to oral history interviews with that in mind.
