I come from a long line of storytellers whose love was expressed through unforgettable stories. Some of these stories were true, some were imagined, and many others were something in between, like my Dad’s birth story.
According to his mother, she was foraging on a hillside and was so preoccupied with her task that she did not realize that her baby, my Dad, had “slipped out” of her womb and rolled down the hill, where she eventually found him asleep, peacefully nestled among some soft grasses.
The truth of his birth story is more likely that she birthed him alone in that land, unsupported and working on a day she should have been resting. It was probably terrifying and certainly painful, though not that uncommon at that time in our home country, but ultimately, a joyous moment. My Dad, who certainly inherited and refined her keen sense of fantastical humor, was born, and the details don’t really matter.
The truth of his birth, which I could probably corroborate with a few phone calls, matters less than the character, context, and relationships it reveals. This story tells you something true about her world and circumstances, at once unrecognizable and universal as that of the lives of many women today. This story brings me back to a country I lived in for just five years but now write entire books about decades later. This story, because of my writing it, is now an intellectual heirloom I will pass down to new family members, through marriage or their own births, who want it.
These stories, and the way in which my elders embodied them, taught me that storytelling belongs to everyone, not just those with formal training. Their influence is why I love memoir and why I’m passionate about helping others preserve their family stories.
In my new Writing Family Histories class, we will unearth stories like this one and explore what they reveal about our identity, culture, belonging, and, of course, our families.
Through guided prompts, readings, and workshop discussions, we will focus on the craft elements that bring family stories to life, such as voice, scene, memory, characterization, structure, and emotional truth. We will experiment with shaping family anecdotes, inherited stories, and lived experience into compelling narratives, approaching memoir as a playful space for personal discovery, self-expression, and preservation as much as publication.
Whether a writer, artist, or just a thoughtful beginner, I hope this new class gives us all a space to delve deeper into age-old questions about who we are, what we inherit, and what we hope to pass down to the next generation.
Ready to tell your story? Join Michele’s Writing Family Histories class!
About the author
Michele Cantos Garcia is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in Hispanic Executive, Next Gen Collective, and The Brevity Blog. She has profiled Kamala Harris and other leading figures in business, politics, and culture. Michele is currently revising a memoir manuscript, drafting a novel, and teaching memoir with Project Write Now and book inc, where she also writes the craft-focused column titled, the Book Writing Diaries. Connect on Instagram and Substack.
I love your father's birth story and the truth at the heart of it! This will be an amazing class (both versions)
So great!!