Still Life Stories

11/28/2022

thank you to everyone who sent this my way!

Times readers share some of their most beloved keepsakes, from a wooden Snoopy and a multigenerational phone number to documents that guaranteed freedom.

09/30/2022

oh. a few people have asked about this. sorry this post is last minute. bring your own lunch, i'd love to see you there.

Historic Club available to rent. Ask about becoming a member. Concerts, dinners, lectures, plays, and more.

07/30/2022

Imagine being in Alvin Hall’s home and noticing his green bowls. You ask him about them... and he tells you this story! The objects that surround us, tell our stories.

A successful businessman reveals his childhood dream.

06/25/2022

Heirlooms, Redefined.

​​Families convey meaning through stories, traditions — and the conveying of heirlooms. For Juneteenth, a holiday about both remembrance and celebration, 10 photographers documented a treasured family heirloom that carries their families past into the present, inspiring hopes for the future.

03/29/2022

Thank you for this, Hillary Clinton.
THIS is Still Life Stories:
Back in 1995, Madeleine told me a story that still inspires me. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, she visited parts of the Czech Republic that had been liberated by American troops in 1945. Many people waved American flags as she passed, and to her surprise, some had just 48 stars. They had to be decades old. It turned out that American G.I.s had handed out the flags a half-century earlier. Czech families said they had kept them hidden all through the years of Soviet domination, passing them down from generation to generation as the embodiment of their hope for a better, freer future.

“I want to push the envelope as far as I can,” I told Madeleine K. Albright ahead of my speech in Beijing. “Then do it,” she said, telling me how I could sharpen the argument that women’s rights are human rights.

My reflections on the life and career of my dear friend:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/opinion/madeleine-albright-secretary-of-state.html

12/16/2021

WOW.
just finding out about this incredible work celebrating the lives and experiences of seniors through digital short form. here is a site to lose a few hours and gain inspiration.

Silver Screen Studios celebrates the lives and experiences of inspiring seniors through short form digital series and other media. From the legends we love to the everyday Silver Screen stars in our own lives, the platform tells the stories of those living well into their later years to show all of....

11/29/2021

attended a "death cafe" yesterday and someone read this remarkable quote from susan orlean's book: In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned. ... Our minds and souls contain volumes inscribed by our experiences and emotions; each individual's consciousness is a collection of memories we've cataloged and stored inside us, a private library of a life lived.

i thought it best to pass this insightful quote on to those of you who find meaning in personal stories.

07/06/2021

It sure looks like the idea that objects tell stories is front page news.

Just a mile from Bagram Air Base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting. Each one tells a story.

06/24/2021

this article was posted just hours ago and so many people sent it my way. (THANK YOU! i always appreciate your thoughts and action.)
these objects ignite important stories that need to be heard from children who have experienced war.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/24/arts/design/war-childhood-museum.html?fbclid=IwAR3ft6GClJc2rkOMA0D56iI-_J1VGxs2cjRaRV0uoUAtObpSO31jUAuCmyM

The War Childhood Museum, founded to preserve the experiences of young people in the Bosnian War of the 1990s, is expanding to reflect the wartime experiences of children everywhere.

06/15/2021

I'm attending a conference this week about end of life and people were discussing how STORIES ARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR MEANING! It's so simple and true. Take it home: your story has meaning, share it, it is a gift that keeps on giving.

05/17/2021

It is one thing to work with Still Life Stories one-on-one, in your home, talking intimately about a personal object. It is something else entirely when you are not sure about the history of a family heirloom, but you nonetheless open your heart and share what it means to you at a Still Life Stories Zoom event. That is what happened at program last week.

05/12/2021

What will your loved ones learn about you from what you leave behind?

I finally settled on what to keep, what to say goodbye to. I now understand that stuff and memories are two very different things.