Meet the UK’s leading biographer on National Storytelling Week

As this week marks National Storytelling Week, it is the perfect opportunity to appreciate how much we rely on literary activities to occupy our time, and how much enjoyment we get from them. But while lockdown has been particularly quiet for many of us across the nation, leading biographer StoryTerrace has been busy helping thousands of people across the nation document their life stories. The biographer witnessed a significant spike in the number of people across the nation who are starting the process of documenting their life stories, with well over 2000 projects now completed or underway.

Many of us may enjoy the concept of writing our own biographies, yet understandably find the process itself daunting as it is a particularly large project. However, StoryTerrace leave the leg work of the writing to a professional biographer, meaning the parts which people find the most engaging are left to you. Reflecting on our greatest life moments has also been found to offer a whole host of mental health benefits, with feelings of nostalgia proven to significantly boost happiness.

As this week marks the first National Storytelling Week during a global pandemic, reflecting on the power of storytelling has never been more pertinent. It becomes clearer with age how important stories really are to us, with certain accounts and experiences resonating with us throughout our lives.

Rutger Bruining, CEO of biography writing service StoryTerrace, reveals what inspired him to create StoryTerrace:

“One of the elements I love the most about StoryTerrace is how it turns memories and life experiences into permanent recollections to be enjoyed for generations – it is primarily for this reason I decided to start the company. I was inspired by my Grandad’s fascinating stories of his time at war which he told me when I was a child, and I wanted to find a way to make them more permanent so that they could be enjoyed for future generations in my family.

During lockdown, we at StoryTerrace had the pleasure of hearing such a vast variety of inspiring stories and experiences of people across the nation. This difficult period of time encouraged an increasing number of people to start documenting their life stories, as it caused many of us to reflect on happy moments with our close friends and family members.

Writing your personal biography can be one of the most satisfying projects you ever embark on. Research has even shown that it can provide strong mental health benefits, which has become especially important during lockdown. The process of writing your memoirs can help you gain perspective on past events, relive wonderful memories and even rekindle relationships with people you’ve drifted away from over the years.”