1000 WORDS
STORIES FROM THE VA'S MY LIFE, MY STORY PROJECT
Over the last 12 years writers with the My Life, My Story project at the Department of Veterans Affairs we have interviewed over 10,000 veterans and written short stories about their lives. Each story is reviewed and edited by the veteran, and with their approval, added to their VA medical record. Any VA provider who is caring for that vet can easily find their story and read, in their own words, what matters to them, who matters to them, and why.
We keep each story to about 1,000 words so that health care providers have time in their busy days to read them.
Over the last 12 years writers with the My Life, My Story project at the Department of Veterans Affairs we have interviewed over 10,000 veterans and written short stories about their lives. Each story is reviewed and edited by the veteran, and with their approval, added to their VA medical record. Any VA provider who is caring for that vet can easily find their story and read, in their own words, what matters to them, who matters to them, and why.
We keep each story to about 1,000 words so that health care providers have time in their busy days to read them. We would never presume to tell someone’s whole life story in 1,000 words. But we do try to capture some of their spark and essence.
This book features 15 of those stories as well as full-page color photographs of each of the vets. It exists because 15 remarkable people shared their lives with us. We hope their stories find a place in you.
- Paperback
About Thor Ringler & Seth Jovaag
Thor Ringler is the national program manager for the VA’s My Life, My Story project and works as a writer-editor at the VA hospital in Madison, WI. He has an MFA in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from Edgewood College.
Seth Jovaag spent a decade as a writer, editor and podcast producer for the My Life, My Story project at the VA Medical Center in Madison, Wisconsin. He previously worked for over a decade as a newspaper reporter in the Madison area.
Discussion Questions
1,000 Words Discussion Questions
Your Response
- What emotions came up for you reading these stories?
- Where do you recognize yourself or people you love in these stories?
- If you were an interviewer with an hour to talk to a stranger, what questions would you ask?
- If you had an hour to tell a stranger anything you wanted to share about your life, what do you think you’d say?
Healthcare
- More than 84% of Madison VA Veterans who’ve been interviewed have consented to add their story to their VA electronical health record, where it can be read by their VA healthcare team (nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists, schedulers, dieticians, etc.). How do you think a patient’s story affects …their healthcare providers? …the patient’s relationship with their healthcare providers?
- How do stories impact our healing and wellbeing?
- If given the opportunity, would you want to share a story about your life with your healthcare team? Why or why not?
My Life, My Story Process
- Stories are written up by VA volunteers and staff writers who interviewed the Veterans. The final stories are far from interview transcripts; writers choose how to organize them, which topics to summarize and emphasize, and what information to include and omit. The Veteran then reviews the story draft and makes final edits. Who’s the author of the story?
- In the electronic health record, stories appear with a note that they are told in the Veteran’s own words and are not fact-checked. What could be the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
Veterans
- Veterans are often referred to as heroes in American culture. What makes a Veteran heroic?
- How do these stories confirm or challenge prevailing cultural ideas of Veteran identity or Veteran heroism?
Excerpt
“She put her finger on my chest. She said, ‘You’re nothing but a hitman for the U.S. government,’ turned around, and walked away. I thought to myself, ‘Welcome home’.” —Bill
“There was no love there. But we knew what love was; we could see it in other families. So we drank a lot and stayed inside our minds.“ —Terry
“I will start from the time that I changed from a happy girl to a mature teenager. In 1939, I was just 11 years old. We were listening to the radio and heard an alarm. They announced that the German army had crossed the border and airplanes were on their way to Warsaw.” —Joanne