The book of myself: a do-it-yourself autobiography in 201 questions By: Carl Marshall

Author: David Marshall

Strong is the urge to write one’s life story as a keepsake for oneself and one’s family. The difficulty is knowing where to start, and then where to go from there. Carl and David Marshall, a grandfather-grandson team, have created a fine and fun do-it-yourself autobiography. The cover of the journal-sized Book of Myself is intended to resemble handmade paper; the inside pages have the yellowed hue of a keepsake found in a musty attic trunk. The book is not especially pretty. But the questions–one per page, divided into early, middle, and late years, and then again into sections concerning family, friends, education, work and responsibilities, and the world–are good enough that it hardly matters. Among the 201 jumping-off points included here are questions concerning childhood toys, crushes, and forbidden exploits; adult embarrassments, betrayals, and achievements; and how one’s views change over the years. –Jane Steinberg