Today I was reminded exactly why I created My Legacy Story.
One of our residents, Joan, approached me about the Legacy Story workbook after hearing others speak about their experience with it. Joan is a remarkable woman who once worked for Air Canada and spent her life traveling the world. One of her daughters now lives in Scotland, and the other is also far away. Joan told me she wanted to start documenting her stories — not just for herself, but as a gift to her children. Of course, I said yes. That’s exactly what this project is for.
She was hesitant about the online component, preferring pen and paper — and as a fellow pen-and-paper girl myself, I completely understand. There’s something sacred about writing by hand. But as we chatted more, I shared that there are ways to bridge the two worlds. You can still write in your own script, still hold the pen, and then scan it in — so that it can live on and be shared, cherished, and protected.
That’s when she lit up and said, “Hilary, I have this journal…”
She brought down a handwritten book from 1886 — the original travel journal of her husband’s ancestor, who is believed to be the first European to successfully cross the Mediterranean by hot air balloon. I held it in my hands. 139 years old. His words, his thoughts, his courage — right there in ink. A first-hand account of a journey so wild and brave that others before him had attempted and failed. He traveled with a stranger, across the open sea, in a balloon. And his story, written in his own hand, somehow landed here, with me.
I was completely floored.
This journal was the only copy. And in that moment, the entire mission of My Legacy Story came full circle. I told Joan, “Let me scan this for you.” She agreed, and now there’s a second copy — one she’s printed for safekeeping, and one that can now be digitally preserved, shared, and passed on to every branch of the family tree.
This is the power of legacy.
The synchronicity wasn’t lost on me: Joan spent her life flying around the globe. And now I was holding a journal from 1886 belonging to a man who quite literally soared across the Mediterranean sky in a balloon. A century apart, both connected by flight — and now, by story.
Moments like these remind me that legacy isn’t just about the past. It’s about how we make meaning of the past now so it can live on into the future. It’s about courage, risk, heart, love. And it’s about making sure those stories don’t disappear into dust or silence. Whether written by hand, typed online, or recorded by voice — what matters is that the stories are told. Preserved. Shared.
That’s what My Legacy Story is here for.
To help people take that first brave step and say: This is who I am. This is what I lived. And this is what I want to leave behind.
Because one day, a great-great-grandchild may read your words and feel, as I did today, like they’ve just stepped through a portal in time.