Every life story deserves a book
More than a hundred life books in ten years. That number was produced in Amsterdam Nieuw-West as part of the ESAN Life Books Project. Since 2015, over-70s in this Amsterdam neighborhood have been telling their life stories. Research shows that having life stories recorded has a great impact on the storyteller; it gives a long-term feeling of happiness. In ESAN’s anniversary magazine, designed to commemorate the life stories project, you can read all kinds of stories. You will also find tips for starting your own life story project. The books are not intended for external publication; the older person decides what to do with them.
Valuable for volunteers and storytellers alike
Volunteers write down these life stories. Wendela Gronthoud, who was an ENIEC member for many years, is one of the volunteers and has already written six life stories, including the ‘hundredth’ life story. This is the life story of Corry Smit-Otto, a vital 90-year-old who took care of the illustrations on the front and back cover herself.
Elderly with a migration background
Amsterdam Nieuw-West is home to many elderly people with a migration background. Through their stories you, as a volunteer, also get to know fellow city residents with a different background. Like the life story of Cora Seur-Tergau, who, like Corry, has her roots in the former colony of the Dutch East Indies, or the life story of Huseyin Doganbas who came to the Netherlands from Turkey at the age of 22. So writing life books is valuable for both the narrator and the writer.
You will also find tips in the magazine for starting your own life story project.
You can find the magazine here!
Would you also like to start a project? Contact: esan@energiekesenioren.nl
www.energiekesenioren.nl
