genealogy

This book is a must have for everyone. I received it as a Christmas present in 99' and I've been writing in it ever since. I'm only in my early twenties and as I get older I want to have something to remember my past. I hope that my kids and the rest of family will be able to read this and see the joy that I've had in my lifetime. This is the perfect expression of a lifetime of fond memories captured in a single book.

I bought the book Once Upon a Lifetime for my father last Christmas. He balked at the idea of filling out a bunch of questions about his life. I hounded him to do it for a few months. He said he'd done the first page in January, and the second page in February, but was having a hard time getting into it. He isn't one to talk about himself or his life, but I knew he'd had a very adventurous and challenging life, and I had always wanted to know more about it. He'd never shown us any photo albums, has no family, and wanted to "leave the past behind". I stopped bugging him about the book by March. He died in July in his home of a sudden heart attack. He was 81 years old. As my sister and I were going through his things, on his desk, under a big pile of books and papers was the book of questions Once Upon a Lifetime. I noticed that he had not only filled in the first two pages, but every page of the book. He had answered all 1001 questions. If not with an answer, at least an "N/A". I told the story of the book at his memorial service and quoted from it. People told me how moving it was to hear about his life, and have quotes from the book. I've had at least 15 people ask me where to get a copy of the book so they can give it to their parents.