When were you born?

Where have you lived?

What was your address?
In what kind of house?
What did it look like?
Who were your neighbors?
Who were your friends?
What did you do for fun?
What schools did you go to?
How were they different from schools today?
Who was a teacher you liked?
Who was a teacher you disliked?
Did you like school?
Were you a good student?
What was your best subject?
What homework did you have?
How long did it take?
About your sisters and brothers…
Who was older?
Who was younger?
How did you get along together?
What did you play together?
Did you ever wear each other’s clothes?
Who did which chores?
Did you have a nickname?
What was it?
How did you get it?
Did you like it? Hate it?
Did you have a dog? A cat? Other pets?
What kind?
What were their names?
What happened to them?
Were you ever rich?
Were you ever poor?
Did you ever play tricks on your parents?
What kind?
What did they do to you?
How old were you?
What games did you play?
Indoors?
Outdoors?
With whom?
What was your favorite toy?
What were your favorite radio programs?
What were your favorite TV programs?
What foods did you like best?
What foods did you hate?
Were you ever very sick?
When?
What happened?
Who took care of you?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What was your favorite story?
Did you go on vacations?
Where?
What did you do?
What did you see?
Who went along?
How did you get there?
How much did a telephone call cost?
How much did gasoline cost?
Clothes?
Food?
Magazines?
A book?
A toy?
A TV set?
Rent?
Other things?
What house of worship did you go to?
Where?
Who was the clergyman?
What did you wear?
What was your favorite prayer?
Did you speak any other languages?
Which ones?
How did you learn them?
Did you ever live in another country?
Which ones?
What cities?
How long?
How did you get there?
How did you get here?
Where did you eat out?
What was your favorite place?
What did you get?
How much did it cost?

YOUR PARENTS AND FAMILY…

ABOUT YOUR PARENTS

What were their names?
Where were they born?
When?
How long did they live?
What did they look like?
What work did they do?
Where did they live?
Were they rich?
Were they poor?
What do you remember most about your mother?
About your father?
What was your mother’s maiden name?
How far back can you trace her family?
How far back can you trace your father’s family?
Was anyone in family famous? Who? Why? When was that?

WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP…

How late could you stay up?
Who were your best friends?
What chores did you have to do?
What things could you fix around the house?
How much was your allowance?
How did you spend it?
What clubs did you belong to?
What did the club do?
Who were your idols?
Favorite singers?
Favorite actors?
Favorite actresses?
Favorite comics?
Entertainers?
Movie stars?
TV personalities?
Athletes?
Authors?
Did you ever see or meet anyone famous?
Who? When? Where? What happened?
Did you play any musical instruments?
Which ones?
How did you learn?
Who taught you?
How much did a lesson cost?
How much did you practice?
What music did you play?
What was your best piece?
Did you ever play in public?
Did you collect things?
Stamps?
Coins?
Antiques?
Art?
Recipes?
Model planes, boats, cars?
Toys?
Books?
Baseball cards?
Other?
What happened to your collection?
What were your other hobbies?
Did you ever have a big fight or argument?
With whom?
About what?
How did it end?
What magazines did you read?
What songs did you sing?
What dances did you dance?
Where you ever in an important religious ceremony?
What was it?
When?
Where?
What happened?
Did it have a lasting effect on you?
Did you ever go fishing?
Hunting?
Biking?
Hiking?
Sleigh riding? Horseback riding?
What sports did you like to watch?
Where did you watch them?
What sports did you like to play?
Where did you play?
Were you a good player?
Which were your favorite teams?
Were you a real big fan?
Who were your favorite players?
What card games did you play?
With whom?
How often?
Where?
What stakes?
Did you win?
How did you meet boys and girls?
Did you smoke?
What?
What brands?
What did it cost?
Did you stop?
Did you drink?
What?
Was it ever a problem?
Did you have odd jobs?
What were they?
What did you do?
For whom?
Did you get paid?
How much?
Did you go to high school?
Which one?
Where?
When?
What do you remember about…
Teachers?
Subjects?
Friends?
Clubs?
Sports?
Socials?
Did you go to college or trade schools?
Which ones?
Where?
When?
What did you study?
What was your major?
Were you a good student?
Did you have a famous professor?
Which teacher made the biggest impression on you?
How did that influence your future?
Were you in any activities?
Which ones?
What degrees did you get?
How much was tuition?
How did you pay for it?
Did you live on campus?
How would you sum up your educational experience?
Any regrets or second thoughts about your education?

WHEN YOU GOT MARRIED….

How did you meet grandpa/ma?
What was he/she like?
What was your first impression?
What did you say?
What did he/she say?
How old were you?
How old was he/she?
What do you remember best about the courtship?
About the engagement?
What date was the wedding?
Where?
What did you wear?
Who was there?
Who performed the ceremony?
Did anything special happen?
Was there a party?
Who were the guests?
How many?
Was it catered? What was served?
How much did the party cost?
Who paid for it?
What presents did you get?
Did you go on a honeymoon?
Where?
How long?
Where did you first live?
What was the address?
How much rent did you pay?
And then where did you live?
What did it look like?
How many rooms?
How was it furnished?
Who helped you furnish?
Who did the cooking?
What were some special dishes?
What big parties did you give?
What cars did you drive?
Who were your in-laws?
How did you get along?
Anything special to tell me about them?

ALL ABOUT MY PARENTS…

When was my mother/father born?
What day?
What time?
Where?
Who was the doctor?
Who was there?
How much did she/he weight?
As a little girl/boy..
Good?
Mischief?
Trouble?
Favorite story?
Favorite food?
Favorite entertainment?
Any special to tell about him/her?
What did she/he want to be when grown up?
What was she/he like as a teenager?
Ever in trouble?
What made you angry?
What clothes did she/he wear?
Was her/his room neat?
What was he/she like at school?
Did you help do the homework?
What chores did you assign?
Were they done okay?
How much was his/her allowance?
What was her/his nickname?
Did you use it or his/her given name?
Good habits?
Bad habits?
Any pets?
How did you meet your future son/daughter-in-law (my father/mother)?
When first impression?
How did you feel?
What did you say?
What did he/she say?
What was my parent’s wedding like?
How did you know that and when I was born?
Where were you?
Who told you?
Did you know the person I was named for?
What should I know about him/her?

HOW TIMES WERE DIFFERENT THEN…

What was different when you were a child?
Entertainment
Toys
Chores
Shopping
In the streets
In the house
Transportation
Vacations
Money
Working
Travel
Cooking
Food
Clothes
Medicines
Doctors
Wages
Telephones
Growing up
Reading
Cleaning
Beauty parlors
Newspapers
Books
Restaurants
Prices
Education
Schooling
Customs
Manners
Films
Theater
What do we have now, that you didn’t have when you were little?
What did you have then, that we don’t have now?

CERTAIN EVENTS OF YOUR LIFE…

What was the most exciting thing you remember?
The funniest?
The saddest?
The most dangerous?
The proudest?
The most embarrassing?
The biggest trip you ever took?
Where?
When?
With whom?
What were the high points?
Other journeys?

YOUR WORK…

What kind of work did you do?
For whom did you work?
What hours?
What were your bosses like?
How much was your first salary?
What was your most important position?
What was the high point of our career?
Were there any disappointments?
When did you stop working?
How did you get to work?
What was the workplace like?
Did you ever have your own business?
What kind?
What was it called?
How did it start?
What happened?
Did you belong to any organizations?
Which ones?
What did they do?
What did you do in them?
Are you still a member?
Were you active in any charities or as a volunteer?
Which ones?
What did you do?
Were you ever in the military?
In a war?
Where did you go?
What did you do?
What happened to you?
Most vivid memories?
Did you ever have an operation?
What for?
How old were you?
In what hospital?
Who was the doctor?
How much did it cost?
Who paid?
What big personal changes took place?
In your family?
In your home?
Your work?
Your friends?
Your marriage?
Other?

SOME OF YOUR VIEWS AND FEELINGS…

What were the best books you ever read?
What were the best movies you ever saw?
What were the most enjoyable TV programs you watched?
What causes did you feel strongly about?
Do you still?
Did you ever gamble or make a very big bet?
On what?
What was your biggest win?
What was your biggest loss?
Do you know any home remedies?
What are they?
Who taught them to you?
What are some of your favorite sayings?
What are some of our favorite jokes?
To what political party do you belong?
Did you always?
Were you active?
Which candidates have you voted for through the years?
What events in the world affected you most?
How?

JUST BETWEEN US…

What are you most proud of doing?
What are you most proud of being?
What are your religious beliefs?
What advice would you like to give me?

Resources

How to Start Writing a Memoir: 10 Tips for Starting Your Memoir - 2023 - MasterClass

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