Bringing your stories to life

Words is about “capturing the essence of our clients’ lives” and providing them with a once in a lifetime experience.

For Caroline, who has spent more than 25 years in business across the executive recruitment, retail and hospitality industries, bringing YLYW to fruition came about because of experiences in her own life.

“I wrote both of my parent’s eulogies,” she said. “I wish I had had stories to draw on, information on what mattered to them the most. I wished they had left behind even a small diary. But there was nothing.

By Sheree Hoddinett

Have you ever wanted to tell your life story, but just don’t know where to start? Imagine being able to sit down and share all the bits and pieces of your life as you remember them and have someone put it all together for you. Believe it or not, there is someone out there who can do it for you and it all started right here on Bribie Island.

Your Life Your Words (YLYW) is all about writing people’s life stories, using their own words to share with their loved ones…today. In the words of the woman behind the scenes, founder and managing director Caroline Jamieson, Your Life Your

“So when I turned 60, I took some time out to write my own memoir. I wanted my children, grandchildren and beyond, to know who I really am, where I came from and where I’ve been and everything in between. It took me 18 months to complete my memoir and upon reading it from woe to go, I was a bit disappointed. Somehow I hadn’t captured the real me, the essence of my soul. I thought to myself how different it would have been if I had had a professional writer by my side, writing as I spoke, crafting sentences and moulding words into place. I imagined myself sitting in the comfort of my own home, simply talking and sharing my life story with my own personal writer. This is how Your Life Your Words was born.”

Caroline found her own attempt at writing a memoir quite an arduous task. So with that in mind, she created each and every process of the business to be as easy, enjoyable and effective as it

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT WRITING YOUR LIFE STORY?

Many people do… but never get around to it!

Carolina had her memoir presented to her at her home in Newfarm last week. This is what she had to say…"Overall, it was a wonderful experience. It’s what I wanted it to be. I didn’t know how I would go, whether I’d like to tell my writer my story or what I would tell her, but she made it easy. I thought my writer was very easy to talk to and very helpful, and I enjoyed it very much. I think the memoir is very well presented in the leather; it’s my story but the way it’s presented makes it feel important. I love my story and how my writer wrote it.

I’m just very happy overall." Carolina Kidd could be. Caroline also personally matches each writer on the team with the client they will work with and write for.

If we don’t share today… tomorrow it is gone, forever!

Why not be the next one to enjoy a journey down memory lane.

It is simply an experience of a lifetime!

“The skills, experience and disposition of each writer is fundamental to the journey of the client with Your Life Your Words,” Caroline said. “Our writers are exceptional people! There are more than a few online writing services and essentially the onus is on the client to undertake the writing. But nothing comes close to having one’s own personal writer, sitting with you in the comfort of your own home. All one needs to do is talk and the writer will take you down memory lane and compose your heartfelt memoirs, with your very own words.”

So, what is the process behind it all?

Caroline is the first point of contact and ensures everything is very personable for all clients.

“I spend some time chatting with the client, asking pertinent questions,” she said. “This information is then relayed to the writer so they can conduct certain research about the client before they meet with them.

“Clients are provided with a profile of their writer before they meet with them. This crossover of information makes for easy conversation at the first meeting. Writers will visit with clients three to four and even five times, depending on how many words a client chooses to book for. The client can also choose to have a video recording of themselves speaking directly to the ones they love the most. Every step of the way, the writer will be by the client’s side.”

Knowing that the reputation of every business she has owned and operated is paramount to her, Caroline takes great pride in what Your Life Your Words has to offer.

“I feel extremely proud to have identified and established a unique ‘one-of-a-kind’ service to the Bribie community, Queensland as a state and down the track to be an Australia-wide business,” Caroline said. “And wow wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could establish the service overseas!”

Given the demographic of the Island, Caroline knew there was potential for a good market for a product like Your Life Your Words.

“I think Bribie Island has been the perfect place to launch Your Life Your Words,” she said. “Each member of the community that has engaged our services have been thrilled with the process and outcome. Absolutely thrilled! Some have even cried tears of immense satisfaction. To put it simply, if we don’t share our stories today, tomorrow it is lost forever.” For further information about pricing and how Your Life Your Words works, visit yourlifeyourwords.com. au or contact Caroline on 0401 544 153.

By Alistair Gray

If you need a problem solved, something fixed or a creative approach, the man to see on Bribie is Derek Patey. With plenty of wisdom to share, he loves to yarn. As the Men's Shed president, Derek has become well-known to Bribie locals for the incredible wire sculptures of the soldiers seen by many on Anzac Day. His wife Sonia is a sculptor, potter and a hard-working volunteer at the Bribie Arts