WHAT CAN I DO WITH A MULTI-HOUR AUDIO HISTORY OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS?
In 2003, a southeastern family used their set of CDs as the
platform for a four-day family reunion (covering three generations). Quite a
conversation-starter...
In 2004, a baby-boomer female reconciled with her G.I.-Generation dad after she
finally heard his version of the long-ago split by her parents. The daughter had
never heard the story of why her parents engaged in a rushed and reckless
marriage back in 1943...
In 2005, a Florida family had all four CDs transcribed and -- because the tough
editing had already been done in sound -- the resulting book was both lively
and accurate...
In 2006, two sisters sat down with their 96-year-old grandmother to fill in some
holes and ask other follow-ups. Playback, discuss, make notes; and then go back
for more...
In 2007, an Arizona woman who had suffered a stroke in '99 worked with her
family to recreate her adult life -- the kind of project where skilled audio
editing makes a lot of difference...
In 2009, an 85-year-old business owner in Virginia hired Frank to make a
spontaneous pair of CDs with her, which (with only a bit of editing) became a
holiday present to her daughters a few weeks later...
In 2010, perhaps the country's greatest living chiropractor
worked with Frank on a history of his profession. The resulting six-CD set is
now used to orient select new hires at the premiere financial-services
institution for chiropractors...
In 2011, a woman whose husband is in the early stages of Alzheimer's worked with
his son, youngest sister and Frank to record (and sometimes add detail to)
dozens of his stories and core life themes...
In 2012, a Washington barrister whose family escaped Nazi-dominated Austria in
August 1938 had that part of his CDs transcribed by the Austrian Embassy; those
17,900 words found their way into the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the Austrian
National Fund Archive (which runs a library with such histories).
So, every year, a new application -- because a Family Audio History is not the
Last Word. It's typically the trigger for a whole new array of discussions.