Above: Southborough author Donna McDaniel speaking at the Senior Center in 2011
What better time to share family memories than the holiday season? Local author and historian Donna McDaniel hopes to enable families do just that by offering a new service that not only helps family members share memories, but also preserve them.
The author of the Southborough Historical Society’s book Southborough Memories, Donna is offering to interview you or one or more of your family members while recording the conversation. After the interview, she will produce a CD and transcript of the conversation for the family. She can also make a bound memory book that blends favorite photos with quotes from the interview.
Inquiring about memories is something Donna has experience with. For the Historical Society book, she interview 40 older Southborough residents about their memories of Southborough past. Doing so helped her discover what a gift it is to listen to older friends and relatives share their memories.
Donna has plenty of memories of Southborough’s past herself, and said being an elder seemed to help her subjects relax and remember.
“They were delighted to find someone really cared about their memories,” Donna said of the participants. “That in itself is a gift to the interviewee.”
For more information about the service, including pricing, to view a sample, and/or to make appointment, contact Donna at music196569@gmail.com or 508-481-8299. For holiday gifts, Donna recommends getting in touch by December 7.
