A LifeTime Autobiography – A Gift with Real Meaning
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Posted on Apr 10, 2017 in Editorial.
When Ali Levin was faced with the dilemma of gift shopping for her elderly father, she, like many of us, considered the regular types of gifts.
“It’s hard to give your father something, you know – he gave me everything, and sometimes you’re sort of like, what? One more tie for a present and he doesn’t even wear a tie anymore. So what do you get?”
Levin liked the idea of giving her father a gift that had real meaning and, in her search for the perfect solution, she discovered LifeTime.
“It wasn’t just some sort of silly throwaway gift for another year of a holiday, so that meant a lot to me. He’s engaging his mind through the LifeTime process. That’s been huge. And it’s been something positive for us to talk about,” she said.
Duane Roemmich
Vice President Author Development at LifeTime USA, Duane Roemmich said, for many, LifeTime is not so much about the book, but more about the engaging process of the book’s development.
“The process involves six months of weekly face-to-face interviews, so interviewers get to know their subjects well,” Mr Roemmich said.
“Participants tell their stories, share their precious memories and the most important parts of their lives. It’s a very meaningful process,” he said.
According to Ali Levin, the autobiographical journey has given her father renewed purpose.
“It’s incredible for him to have a purpose, to have a reason to get up, to think about the day, to get dressed to see Anna, the interviewer… It’s meaningful. It’s something important to do,” Ms Levin said.
“When you read his story, his personality is just bursting through the pages – and there are so many stories. I know I’m giving him that gift of remembering really happy times and, I think, you can’t give someone more than that,” she said.
LifeBook was established in the UK in 2012 and expanded to the United States in January.
LifeBook was originally established in 2012 by Roy Moed who was inspired by his own personal journey. His father, Jules, was almost blind and felt he had nothing more to contribute to the world. Moed asked a friend to visit his father for an hour each week to ‘interview’ him and document his stories. He discovered that his father eagerly awaited each visit and relished in the chance to talk about the fond memories and experiences of his life. This very first autobiography inspired Moed to take LifeTime to the world.
