Happiful – August 2019

84 • happiful.com • August 2019

be catharsis; they’re looking for a

way of expelling their frustrations.

Or they’re looking for a way that

they can put past events straight.

“The most important one,

though, is legacy,” she explains.

“They want to feel that, after

they die, they have something

permanent for those that they

know.”

Many of us will be able to relate

to the power of the stories that are

passed down through generations,

from grandparents, parents, and

elders in our communities. Those

stories simultaneously help us

build a portrait of their lives –

something we can celebrate and

honour – and preserve their

memory and spirit through the

lessons they teach us, and the

visions that we may share.

And there’s an important

reason why Hospice Biographers

record audio only, with Barbara

explaining that the format

empowers people to tell their

stories in their own voice, allowing

them to be judged – not by their

appearance or their ability to write

a story – but as a person, and a

human being.

CAPTURING CHARACTERS

Of course, for the family and

friends of those who have

recorded their stories with

Hospice Biographers, the gift of

those recordings is priceless.

“I’ve been chased down

corridors,” says Barbara. “People

come barging into my little

makeshift audio studio at my

hospice, and give me these huge

bear hugs. They burst into tears.

Oh gosh, they love it.”

When she reflects on the people

she has worked with over the

years, there’s one woman in

particular who stands out in

Barbara’s memory.

Suzanne Wallace was

a superintendent in the

Metropolitan Police before she

was diagnosed with terminal

breast cancer. She turned to

Hospice Biographers to record her

story of a life lived to its fullest.

But Barbara’s role in Suzanne’s

story didn’t end when the audio

stopped recording. Before she

died, Suzanne and her family

asked Barbara to give a eulogy at

her funeral.

In a packed church of more than

300 people, Barbara guided the

congregation through Suzanne’s

incredible life, using clips from

the recordings they had done

together.

“People cried and people laughed

because there was so much of

Suzanne’s character,” Barbara

reflects. “They laughed because it

was so her.”