Remembering Your Story

By Richard L. Morgan
Upper Room Books, $10.95

ISBN 0835807819

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Leader's Guide, $4.95

ISBN 0835807975

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A story to remember -- God's work in your life

Review by James Cutler

As we move along in years, remembering gets more important to us. Everybody has an aunt, a great-uncle, or a grandparent who loves to sit and tell how things were in "the old days." These stories help shape our perception of who we are, where we came from, and what we can do.

Richard L. Morgan is a man who knows the value of reminiscences. A great storyteller himself, he believes that as we recall our life story, we can see God at work casting out a spiritual lifeline -- if only we will keep a record and recall His many mercies. In the first chapter of Remembering Your Story: A Guide to Spiritual Autobiography, Morgan helps us see the connection between "God's story, my story, and your story." Designed for use in small groups that meet for an hour and a half each session, the book has 10 chapters that move people along from childhood (First Age) to the future (Fourth Age).

Morgan links life events with biblical stories and helps readers identify people who have helped them in the past. He also offers a process whereby you can forgive someone who has wronged you and come into a season of fully knowing God's love. The last chapter offers support to those facing their own death as well as to caregivers.

If your memory needs a little jogging, you'll be especially glad to see the "Four Ages Questionnaires" at the back. Morgan divides life into four 25-year segments in these questionaries. In another place he asks readers to recall their life story in seven-year segments. He also includes instructions for acting as interviewer and videotaping Life Stories with someone who has stories to tell or who needs to remember their story. The instructions are really good to use when you know an older person has a lot of memories but you haven't been able to record them.

Morgan has also written a Leader's Guide to Remembering Your Story which is part of the Pathways Leader's Guide Series. This step-by-step guide for leading a small group is very clear. It includes opening and closing exercises, supplies needed, activities and discussion questions, and lists the Scripture passages that are appropriate for each chapter and each phase of life.

The author already has a large following from his previous books, Autumn Wisdom: A Book of Readings, No Wrinkles on the Soul, and From Grim to Green Pastures: Meditations for the Sick and Their Caregivers. He is a pastor in North Carolina and a busy speaker and workshop leader.

James Cutler is an active layman and reviewer from Portland, OR.