“Story is the song line of a person’s life. We need to sing it and we need someone to hear the singing. Story told. Story heard. Story written. Story read creates the web of life in words.” Christina Baldwin As a child and even as a teenager, I remember asking
I’ve always been fascinated with family history. The genealogy of both sides of my family interests me but it is the history and the stories which arouse my curiosity. I am always searching for the unique stories of my ancestors, the stories which explain their way of life and the
These were the siblings of my grandmother. In this picture her eldest sister Clair and her brother Dima are shown performing a Russian dance. Cleopatra was called Clair as she detested her given name. She was, according to my grandmother, sensitive, kind, straightforward and truthful. She acted older than her
We are all stories. Our stories are woven from the stories of our parents, our grandparents and so on through our ancestral trail. Some of our stories are more complex than others, their narratives ducking and weaving across and around war and trauma and flight. Some of our stories are
Last year, around Anzac Day, I discovered this article written by Minna Muhlen. As I read it I felt such relief, relief at finding someone else in Australia who is potentially struggling with the same emotions as I am. I debated with myself for quite a while, should I contact
Ask your family. I’m lucky. My cousin on my father’s side of the family compiled a comprehensive genealogy of our family, wrote books on the subject and developed several family trees. My aunt wrote a journal which, despite being in German, is a valuable resource for me. I’ve also asked