Customer Reviews

Book of Myself: A Do-It Yourself Autobiography in 20 Questions

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Advantages: This autobiographic journal is affordable and omits uncouth, private questions that have dissuaded me from purchasing other journals. For example, one's sex life is not addressed in this book, but is included in another life journal, "All About Me." "The Book of Myself" makes a great gift for grandparents, parents, & older relatives or friends.

Disadvantages: Tailored more for older folks. For instance, the book solicits responses to "my memories of World War II, "inquires how Pearl Harbor shaped a person's life, your whereabouts during JFK's assassination & the 1st moon landing.

I never could have written so much about my life without his journaling book. The prompts give just the right amount of direction, while still being flexible for different kinds and ages of people. It pulled out lots of memories: what I liked doing after school as a kid, what my parents' politics were, special friendships and mentors, movies and music at different times in my life, my first car, pet stories. And it made me think: what I am proud of doing, what I regret not exploring, wishes, traits I hope to be remembered for. These are just examples, the book covers a lot of ground. I promise you will find lots that will get your pen going! It's fun to do and satisfying to have it all down now.

I would disagree with the comment about this book being a waste of money. The book definately has a baby boomer slant to it-- if you're younger, entries such as "I remember where I was when man first walked on the moon" may be difficult for you to elaborate on (I was born a few months after that event...). My intention is to give copies to my parents and remaining grandparents. Someone commented that there was no place to write in the biographer's name so definately do that yourself. I would also recommend reading through the whole book (10 minutes?) before giving as a gift in case you want to change some of the questions or ask for other details.

I bought this book for my grandmother after carefully reviewing several other autobiographical writing aides. I have to admit I was disappointed when I received the book. The questions are good, but the book itself is very small. If I'd noticed the dimensions of the book that are listed near its photo, I might not have purchased it. Each of the 201 questions gets one side of one page for answering, and the pages are roughly 5x8". It is almost impossible to imagine that the kind of rich, detail-laden anecdotes we hope for (and that we want to pass on for generations) when we give this as a gift could fit in the space provided. Though not ideal, I ended up buying a small notebook for my grandmother, along with the book, that she can continue her answers in.

If you're approaching or experiencing a lifetime milestone (graduation, admissions to university, first career, marriage, retirement) this would be a great book. I would recommend this to the person that wants to create an autobiographical journal documenting the important events of your life. Also makes a great gift.

This is a fabulous book for anyone but it turned out to be especially beneficial to my Mom who is 72 and just had a tumor removed from her head. She was out of commission for 3 months and this book was a wonderful way for her to get her mind functioning even better than before the surgery! She loved it and the questions prompted a lot of memories she hadn't thought about in decades. I highly recommend this book as a gift for anyone but especially for older people and people in the hospital. I plan on giving it to many more people!

I originally purchased this book for myself but found its true value as a family heirloom.

This book is a guided journal for writing an autobiography of your life. It contains 201 questions that are thought provoking and valuable. There are three life sections: Early Years, Middle Years and Later Years so that the journal can be written at any point in your life. Each section contains questions about family, friends, education, work/responsibilities and the world.

Once this book is completed it becomes invaluable. Grandparents can share life lessons, parents can preserve memories, children can start journaling and lovers can share secrets. It becomes a true treasure for the family of someone terminally ill or of someone suffering from memory loss, families can write life stories together and the ill can review a wonderful life. Create your own masterpiece to span the centuries and allow your life to matter long after you are gone.

I just got The Book of Myself to give to my dad on Father's Day. A friend gave it to his dad for Father's Day last year and said his dad gave it back to him, all filled out, for Christmas. I think that is a great way to appreciate each other!

I bought this book for my grandmother who was just disgnosed with cancer. I have heard wonderful stories from her, but I wanted those stories to be preserved for my children.
The book asks good questions, some of them basic, some more in-depth, but it should spark some memories. The book itself is constructed of nice-looking paper stock and the cover is nice as well.
This book is set in three life stages: early, middle, later years. So you could technically buy it for someone in their 20s, but not all the questions will relate to them.

The only drawback is there was so little space on the pages to write, so I wrote mine elsewhere. I love to remember stuff with my brother and with my best friend about our childhood days. I'm just beginning my life journey (21), and I look forward to passing this book and my memories along to my descendants. Stuff has resurfaced while going through this that I forgot all about, or things that I take for granted about my family. It's sometimes funny to look back at stuff you forgot about.