Sometimes the stars align and an athlete's senior year in high school becomes the season of a lifetime. What better time to remember the way it all started?

The One-Hour Mini Memoir Series from Beyond the Trees is here. Take this book and one hour to get your story, or that of a loved one, started.

The One-Hour Mini-Memoir Series by Volume 1: Start Your Story |

Would you like to capture all the memories of their year of "lasts" before they fly away? Let Jennifer and Kristi share their experience with graduating seniors and their expertise with gathering photos, memorabilia and stories.

A new study confirms what we all know deep down: "stuff" won't make you happy. 

You’ve heard of nesting behavior in pregnant women? Typically occurring in the fifth month of pregnancy, nesting is “an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.” (Pregnancy Weekly) Well, this weekend I found myself participating in some reverse nesting behavior, interestingly enough, about four months before my “baby” is reborn into the brand new world of college.

Our motto at Beyond the Trees is that everyone has a story to tell, and one of our newest projects proves this is no exception. 

<----- Class participant and writing teacher at a coffehouse reading

You don’t have to spend a ton of cash to please the graduates in your life. Having been through one high school graduation I feel so much more prepared for my younger son's upcoming event. In 2007 I took careful notice of the gifts my older son and his friends received and loved and now I humbly offer these thoughts on gifts for the Class of 2010:

Yesterday, Kristi and I interviewed a 78 year old woman. We also met with a challenge. Our client requested we capture her life story –  in just two hours. Could we do it, we wondered? With a bit of advance planning, reasonable expectations, and an eye on the clock, the answer was “yes”. True, the results of the interview won’t yield a book-length memoir.  But the transcription and audio file will accurately capture the highlights of her life – in her own voice and words. More importantly, it will be treasured by her children and grandchildren.

What would you give to have handwritten words of advice and love from a long-lost loved one? Some of the most important items you will leave behind are the values, beliefs and life lessons of your own life.