Note from the author: Inscriptions appearing at the end of this blogpost were loosely based on actual clients’ dedication pages. You know who you are! Thank you for the inspiration!
I am your memoir. I am your baby, your love, your best self. Or your worst fears. I am filled with bliss and regret, perhaps in equal measures, perhaps not. Accomplishments. Hurdles. Pitfalls. Miracles. Outer successes. And the veritable inner successes, like getting through each day with a little grace.
I stand alone now, before you. Your book. A mirror, smoky or clear, streaked with tears or reflecting a Buddha’s half-smile. Proud, anxious, wary, exhilarated. A fledgling ready to flee. I want to make my way into the world. Let me go!
But wait. Before you free me… take your hand and your pen, give me one more long, deep gaze. Write your heart one more time, there on my opening pages, inscribe your soul.
And then release me to the ones you cherish. The inscription shall be a clue to my provenance, to your essence.
To my husband,
whose everlasting love
makes my life complete
To my wife,
You taught me to notice who’s not in the room
To my eldest brother,
you put the whole family on your shoulders
for over half a century
To my son, with hopes for all who seek rights and dignity
in a world of disability
To my grandchildren, and
all of the grandchildren of the world—
may you live life and enjoy it!
To my dear friend,
You give me vital, everyday nourishment
and dance with me in the creative realm.
To my children,
Because there were some things I couldn’t say when you were growing up,
some things I didn’t know how to say—
Bookplate inscription from a Modern Memoirs client to his grandson, 2020