As promised I began the long process of reading through and commenting on my husband's writing of the story of my family and my roots. He derived this document from conversations with my now deceased uncles, aunts, and mother and from various other interviews and materials written by some of the older family members. This has been his labor of love for the past 20 years, and finally he feels it’s almost at the point of distribution to the family at large for comment. The most fantastic part is the number of photos in this almost 100-page document. Of course, I found some inaccuracies – especially in stories about my immediate family and myself – but that was to be expected. All it takes is a little rewriting on my part. I certainly won’t attempt to edit his writing. He has a voice all his own, and he should keep the history in his voice. It’s like he’s an outsider looking in although he’s integrated himself into my large extended family very well over the 40 years we’ve been married.
How he works: He writes, he comments, he shows a photo and describes which family member(s) is in the photo, and then he moves on. Though he concentrated the most on my mother and father’s families, he has also written subchapters about my aunts and uncles. I must say the whole draft is beautifully organized and almost spot on. It’s like the author, my husband, actually experienced what he writes about he is so knowledgeable about his subject matter. In fact, I kind of tiptoe into a confront with him about an inaccuracy. I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Perhaps like most artists, I am sensitive to an artist’s buttons and which ones not to push. But I push on anyway. He asked me to read and critique, and he left it wide open. I can critique as much as I care to, and he can accept or reject anything that I have to say. This is his book. I have other books to write.
I must also note that he has already published Volume 1 – the story of his immediate family.
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