When Darlene Jerome offered to present a lecture at this year’s Writers Conference on how to write your own obituary, we were immediately intrigued! Writing your own obituary is a great writing exercise. At first you may feel uncomfortable writing about yourself, but a few moments of reflection reveal your personal history is rich with stories and inspiration for characterization.
Darlene Jerome has long been an advocate of writing your own story so future generations have an accurate account of your life. After all, no one knows your life as well as you do. Darlene is the past president of the Johnson County Genealogy Society (JCGS). For eight years, she was the editor of the Johnson County Kansas Genealogist, a 32-page quarterly publication by JCGS. Darlene currently facilitates the society’s Special Interest Writing Group. The group attendees focus on writing their own life stories in small chunks or their ancestors’ stories.
We are thrilled to have Darlene on faculty for the 2023 Writers Conference. You can register for the conference here. Registration isn’t required but is appreciated, and your RSVP includes both days of the conference, Nov. 3 and 4. Sessions are available on a first-come first-serve basis. We will also be hosting a Writers Conference Kickoff on Thursday, Nov. 2.