STORY PROMPTS & WISH DIRECTIVES
Life is a vibrant tapestry woven with threads of joy, sorrow, laughter, and quiet moments that often go unseen. While your loved ones may know the highlights—the weddings, graduations, and vacations—many hidden stories, details, and insights often go untold.
After my wife passed, her family descended upon me like a swarm of frantic bees, buzzing with questions about her life and habits that had evolved since the years when she lived with them as an adolescent, to living with me as adults in our late 20s and 30s. They wanted the mundane details: her morning ritual, the daily coffee order at Starbucks on workdays, her favorite meal at our go-to Mexican restaurant. They even asked about her weekend routine. I told them that I never planned anything with her before 2pm because she loved to sleep late, and I knew making early plans was almost always in vain. Funny enough, her stubborn love of late mornings was the single habit that remained firmly intact from her childhood.
I understood their questions. These weren't just idle curiosities, instead they were anchors to her memory-- a mosaic of "ordinary" that helps keep her close. They're details that aren't obvious when everyone is alive and well, but become important when we're desperate to keep the connection. We always think we'll have more time with the people we love but occasionally, life finds a painful way to remind us that we're promised nothing of the sort.
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Equally important as documenting the details that make up our life behind the curtain, is clear expectations about your arrangements... It's the one party you need to largely plan yourself. I've mentioned it before, but it's important: We often have more relationships than we realize, with many close bonds hidden from others. At funerals, especially, those connections can go unnoticed, leaving many feeling excluded.
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Use our story prompts to journal your wishes, directives, and experiences that are important and told from your perspective. There's tons of prompts for different personalities and situations. Harboring an unusual secret? A brief engagement? Fond memories of your favorite decade? A strong stance about punctuality or a TV show you must have on to fall asleep? Loved ones will appreciate the roadmap and knowing the small details that make up and define you, your past, and your daily life.
I encourage you to ask the people around you to get their take and maybe even let them write some entries on their own. I'm sure your co-workers, friends, and other loved ones have a list of nuances to describe you that you may be entirely unaware of. Remember, journaling should be fun, easy, and done when times are good for the best creative flow.
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STORY PROMPTS & WISH DIRECTIVE PDFs
(Downloadable PDFs can be printed and included within the pages of your book or other journal. New prompts added weekly.)
Blank page with lines for extra writing space or your own prompt
A big regret of mine was...
A difficult time when I grew a lot
A fallout I really regret
A reoccurring dream I've had
A talent I wish I had
A teacher or professor who had the biggest impact on me
A time I thought I was going to die
A time I thought YOU were going to die
A time I was most proud of you
A time when I was worried about you
A time when I really misbehaved and felt bad afterwards
A time when I really misbehaved and had NO REGRETS
A time when I should have done better
A time where I thought you demonstrated a high level of compassion
A time where you should have done better
All about my favorite pet
All the concerts I’ve been to (and which was my favorite)
All the places I’ve been to
An argument I wish I could have done differently
Awards and accolades I never brag or tell about
Catch phrases or taglines that I often say or am known for
Caution! Here’s what I really think of you
Fondest memories of my 20s
Fondest memories of my 30s
Fondest memories of my 40s
Fondest memories of my 50s
Fondest memories of my 60s
Fondest memories of my 70s
Fondest memories of my 80s
Fondest memories of my 90s
Fondest memories of my childhood
Fondest memories of my teens
Food and restaurants I eat at the most
Funeral – Stories that are NOT to be told
Funeral – Theme and location ideas
Funeral – What kind of food and possibly alcohol to serve
Funeral – My ideal guest list (and who NOT to include)
Funeral – People and events that DEFINITELY need to be mentioned
Household trick of mine
How I feel about politics
How I feel about punctuality
How I feel about you
How I plan to haunt you after I die
I think the best ways a person can make a positive impact is…
I was most proud of myself when…
I was most proud of you when…
If I have a choice between staying home and going out…
Lessons I wish you learned
Life trick of mine
Marks on my body you might not know about…
Music that defined my life
My best sibling memories
My biggest pet peeves are…
My favorite activity to relax
My favorite book(s) and why
My favorite car was…
My favorite decade was…
My favorite movie(s) of all time
My favorite outdoor activity
My favorite quality of yours
My favorite quirk of yours
My favorite TV show of all time
My funniest memory of you
My funniest sibling memories
My hidden talent that you probably don’t know about
My house is haunted and here’s what you need to know
My ideal Christmas is/was
My least favorite house chores are…
My least favorite quality about myself
My most favorite way to relax and decompress is…
My personality type and if I think it’s accurate
My routine on a workday is…
My routine on an off day is…
My wishes for my children
My wishes for my family
My worst sibling memories
One of my favorite moments about being a dad
One of my favorite moments about being a mom
One of my most challenging moments being a dad
One of my most challenging moments being a mom
One of the many embarrassing things I never forgot
People at work describe me as...
Quirks of mine
Recipes of mine
Recipes – favorite drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)
Someone I wish I could or would have slept with, famous or not
Songs that define my life
Story of my first love
Thank you for inspiring me
That time I almost got engaged
The best dream I’ve ever had
The best part of my job is…
The best vacation I’ve ever had
The biggest thing I don’t want you to know until I’m gone
The biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent was…
The career I wish I would have chosen
The good and bad parts about parenthood and how it changed me
The hardest moment of my life
The moment I knew my marriage was over
The most peaceful time in my life was
The most stressful part of my job is
The scariest dream I’ve never had…
The scariest moment I’ve ever had…
The story of a lost love
The time there was an “A” for effort (but yeah it was a failure)
The worst date I’ve ever been on (and why)
The worst vacation I’ve ever had
Things I want to do but never find the energy to do
Tickets arrests, encounters you may not know about…
To me, the best quality in a person is…
To me, the worst quality in a person is…
Ways I will communicate with you when I pass over
Ways you can honor my memory everyday
What college was like for me
What I actually do at my job everyday
What I think the afterlife is going to be like
What my life is actually like day to day
Where I was on September 11th
Words of wisdom to give someone who is about to get married
Words of wisdom to give to give someone who is going through a loss