I’ve been working on writing my dad’s biography for a few months.  What started out as asking him basic questions like lineage and favorite holidays, and birthdays, has turned into a healing journey both for my dad and our relationships with our family and a story of man’s triumph over the darkest evils.  I want to record this journey because it’s been amazing, and because if it can work with a man who has been vaulted for most of his life, then it can work for anyone.

Today, I used poetry.  I took the simplest of forms of poetry and used it as a springboard to have a conversation. I would ask him for adjectives that described him as a boy.  Each adjective led me to a story of his boyhood.  And then I’d ask him some verbs that describe him, and those words would lead me on another journey of my father.  What I loved was that I could hear his giggly, adventurous tone come through his stories

What a great tool it was to have to learn more about my dad. I am looking forward to doing this more with other poetry tools to see where this journey takes me. I’m so excited!

p.s. There are more great tools to come!