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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy “I am delighted with my completed book which is the outcome of what was a major project for me. It was very enjoyable working with Kate from Forget-Me-Not Life Stories, and I am extremely grateful for her assistance for what I hope will be a lasting legacy for our family. The initial marketing promises about the process, the budget and the performance were all met and I have no hesitation in recommending Forget-Me-Not Life Stories to anyone who has an enthusiasm for recording their life story.” -Trevor Kerr |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy “I loved the way Kate talked with Dad. She was respectful and caring at the interviews with him and the book looks great. Thank you for your lovely way of presentation.” Janet-Linda Comins |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy "I experienced excellent service from the start of the project to the successful conclusion." -Barbara Waters |
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Sid Pavett with his book Journey into the Unknown
"My wife and I both thoroughly enjoyed A Journey into the Unknown. It is beautifully written and presented and the selection of illustrations and quotations are delightful additions to the prose."
- John & Jane Richards, Buckinghamshire, U K "I found this book, A Journey into the Unknown to be an amazing, compelling read with a good mixture of emotion and humour. The presentation was well thought out and inviting with a good balance of pictures and photographs to word content." - Patti Burt, Tauranga |
From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy "I recommend Forget-Me-Not Life Stories unreservedly to anyone who wishes to do an autobiography, particularly Kate McCarthy for her patience, understanding, guidance and warmth of personality when we worked together on my book, Journey into the Unknown."
-Sid Pavett Reviews of Journey into the Unknown
"Your book, A Journey into The Unknown, has proved a winner with me. It took me back over fifty years to our tour of much of Europe in just three months - a far cry from the successful but less dangerous lives which me, you and John Richards have enjoyed since. We must have been crazy to drive in our little out-of-date van through countries packed with violence and shocking roads fit for only goats and camels. Well, we survived despite some hairy moments. Your story revived some great memories which I had almost forgotten and while I have never met your writer, she certainly captured the feeling of that European trip.
"I know you had a very tough childhood and have done so very well since you arrived in New Zealand but when I read about your early life in your story, it is a miracle you survived without ending up in prison or suffering some equally upsetting fate. I liked the way the writer tells your story without self-pity or exaggeration on your part and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions." - Warren Kyd, Auckland |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy "I can recommend Kate as a person who can come into your home, make you relax enough to tell your story and be of much help."
- Rosa Cooke |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Sarah Ryder "A Level Playing Field was carefully planned and researched resulting in a quality book of my life which has had a huge impact on me and on others who have read it. I feel that that the book accurately captures the person I am.
"My time with Sarah was special not only because her approach was elder-friendly and centred around supporting me to feel safe to share my story, but Sarah acted as the catalyst at a time when my life’s journey needed to go forward, so talking about where I had come from assisted me to move on. |
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'"Those who have read the book have said: 'Love the photos especially from your younger days and your children’s younger days' and 'I can just hear you talking about your life' to 'I found the sections prior to your marriage enlightening.'
"The presentation of headings, photos, highlights and sections add up to a book which is a pleasure to look through and the final presentation is something I will treasure for years to come."
- Ruby Aberhart
"The presentation of headings, photos, highlights and sections add up to a book which is a pleasure to look through and the final presentation is something I will treasure for years to come."
- Ruby Aberhart
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy "This book is just what I wanted to leave my family and friends. They have all commented on how well it has been put together. Thank you Kate for everything you have done."
- Fay Leach |
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VET ONLY: A vet’s journey through life – from horse and dray to horse and sulky.
"Vet Only is my father’s own account of a very full life and represents the fruit of many years of handwritten endeavour. How fortunate were we then, when a good friend referred us to Christine and her Forget Me Not team to assist us through all stages of completion, editing and production. Thank you Christine for everything – it means so much to our whole family." - Mary L Kenny (Charles Roberts’ daughter) |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy “I am most grateful for the help given to me during the preparation of my book by Kate. The cross checking and editing was really superb and the completion of the design by Melanie and production of maps and references were exceptional. All work was appreciated."
- Alex Emeny |
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From the desk of Personal Historian,
Kate McCarthy A LOCAL LAD by Jim Simmonds
“Kate put together Dad’s story in a manner that truly portrays my father.We will always be grateful to Kate for her work to preserve Jim’s story. You do a great service for families Kate.”
- Elaine Gooding 
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PICK & SHOVEL TO CARAVANS
Hurst Bros – Early Years in New Zealand’s Caravan Industry “I take this opportunity to confidently recommend Kate McCarthy of Forget-Me-Not Life Stories for her impressive documentation of the script we provided. We appreciate her tireless efforts to ensure that the many photographs/design was of the highest quality.” - Val & Graham Maplesden |
Val & Graham Maplesden
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Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 November 2017
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From the desk of Personal Historian, Kate McCarthy
Video brings community history to life
Today, storytelling can be delivered in many forms, including video. The subject of a story can range from a person in a family, to the journey of a corporation or the growth of a town. Recently I worked with a passionate team at Western Bay Community Archives, part of the Western Bay of Plenty District Council on a project to capture stories from the past about the Katikati community. During 2017, two short films were presented featuring the memories of Katikati as recalled by two of the town’s most active and well known long term residents, Sally Henry and Pat Pamment.
Sally’s humorous and informative recollections of various events include; the Queen Carnival, which raised funds to build Katikati’s Memorial Hall, the Farmers’ fire, and the Katikati picture theatre. Sally’s recollections present an eye-opening account of Katikati in the late 1940s and 1950s. Pat’s insightful recollections of Katikati life in the late 1930s and 1940s include her Catholic family’s arrival into the heavily Protestant township, fundraising to build a Catholic Church and the impact of World War Two on her family. Pat’s recollections capture some of the significant changes faced by the Katikati community over the years. Please enjoy the films - Memories of Katikati - Sally Henry and Pat Pamment. |
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Training for Hospice Eastern Bay of Plenty life story writers
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We felt privileged to conduct a one-day training for the life story writers at the Hospice Eastern Bay of Plenty based in Whakatane and were happy to donate our time for such a worthy group.
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Gordon & Rosemary Mock
It was too frightening for us to anticipate putting our story together ourselves and it was such a relief to have someone professional show us the various way in which we could do the books.
We had a choice, we knew where we were going, and someone else had to worry about it. We spend a lot of time out of the country and appreciated the fact that Christine communicated with us wherever we were to keep the project moving along. It was wonderful to be able to put all our thoughts, photos and information into someone else’s lap and get a great result. It was almost a part of our bucket list and we can now say ‘that one’s done’. |
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Thompson Family
One of my daughters encouraged me to write my life history for our family. However, the task looked to be something of a burden and I was recommended to approach Christine Norton of Forget-Me-Not Life Stories. With Christine’s expertise in editing and designing and access to printing and binding I finished up with a result beyond expectation and have received great praise from those who were given copies of my book Overall Achievements. With Christine’s encouragement and talent our family now have a valuable reference for their future.
- Colin Thompson Editor’s Note: The Melbourne Cup 2015 took place six weeks after Colin & Irene’s combined book launch celebration and 60th wedding anniversary. The winner was Pirates of Penzance which had been bred at Rich Hill, their family stud farm; a delightful achievement to cap off a milestone year. |
"Dear Colin and Irene
I have just read the book on your lives and your family. What a magnificent effort and congratulations! It was probably the most interesting book I have ever read and I just couldn’t put it down until I had finished. I recently spent three weeks in Paris with my family and took the book with me. Everyone read it and all remarked, even though they don’t know you, on how interesting it was. Again, congratulations on an outstanding effort. Regards." - Name withheld for personal reasons |
Peter Mansfield
The idea of putting a book together was rather daunting for me but Kate was very encouraging right from day one and made the whole experience an enjoyable one. She made sure we kept right on track and that my story was accurate, informative and a true record which would be interesting to read.
Nothing was too much trouble for Kate who was always extremely efficient and punctual when we met to work. She has made the whole process of writing, editing, designing and printing my first publication an amazing one and I would have no hesitation in recommending her services to anyone who is interested in creating a memoir and documenting a life or a personal history experience. - Helen Goldsbury |
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Olive Hamilton
I am very happy with my book. It is nicely presented and I like the way in
which the words wrap around the photos.
I think the grandchildren will appreciate it very much.
- Olive Hamilton My mother's book turned out much better than we had anticipated and now the grandchildren will have something special to remember their grandmother by. My mother tends to be a quiet and unassuming person and I had hoped that by writing her story down, she could better appreciate how significant her struggles and her family successes have been. I believe we have achieved this. - Gavin Hamilton |
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Iris Phillips
I had great pleasure in meeting with
Christine over the seven month period that it took to put my story
together. She has written and designed
it so beautifully and I am really thrilled with the result. My daughters, who I've written the book
for, appreciate the time Christine has put into this project.
- Iris Phillips |
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Michael Floyd
Christine's charming manner, meticulous attention to detail and excellence has resulted in a finished product I am extremely proud of. The two years we worked together on this project have been very satisfactory and rewarding.
- Michael Floyd |
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Doug Phillips
My sincere thanks to Christine for
masterminding the publishing of these booklets.
My thanks also to Lisa, Christine's designer for her superb artwork.
- Doug Phillips |
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Pat Nichol
I wrote my story because if I hadn't done this my children and especially my grand-children would never know about my early life - in particular my experience as a bullock team off-sider and drover in the early 1930's. I'm very happy with the way in which Christine and I worked together on the project and am particularly happy with the end result.
- Pat Nichol |
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Molly Gianotti
Recently we commissioned Christine Norton of Forget-Me-Not Life Stores to interview my mother and record her life story. Christine was amazing. She was extremely patient with Mum when interviewing her and kept her 'on the right page', even though Mum tended to waft off the story from time to time. Christine went out of her way to get extra information about Mum, such as interviewing one of Mum's bowling friends and even going to the Bowling Club to photograph Mum's name on the Honours Board.
She was very helpful to us throughout the process of getting the book together with photographs and had some wonderful ideas to make it special and personal to our family.
We are thrilled with the result and have bought books for each of the Grandchildren as a special keepsake for them to remember 'Nana' by. Thank you, Christine, for all your help and advice. - Geraldine Meo |
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Graham Dyer
I realised, after my Nana died, that my Poppa was the only link left to our family history, which is why I felt it important to record his life story.
If any advice is to be taken from his book, it should be that it's important to have an interest in what your elders have experienced, because you can learn from their experiences and it helps you build a better relationship with your family. - Natalie Dyer |
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Trevor King, QSM
Everyone owes it to their family to record their life story because when you go your memories go with you. It's extraordinary how interested the grandchildren become and I recorded my story (with the help of Christine and Forget-Me-Not Life Stories) because it was the grandchildren who kept asking about my past.
- Trevor King |
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Rodney Harper
With some insistence, my daughter finally convinced me to have my life story recorded and made into a book. Now 96 years of age with the inevitable finality approaching I am aware of the satisfaction children and grandchildren will have in knowing more about their heritage.
This book is a grand effort and I applaud Christine and her organisation for a delightfully presented work. - Rodney Harper |
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Jackie Stifter
"I loved discovering more about my grandfather and the amazing life he has lead to this point. I particularly like the fact that sections can be inserted into the book for when we add additional chapters to his story, or want to include our own." Jackie Stifter
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Diane Harper
"Forget-Me-Not Life Stories has produced a beautifully bound book full of memories which will be a real family heirloom. This is a first class presentation, exquisitely illustrated and printed. I also learned a lot of things about my father's life which I hadn't been aware of." Diane Harper
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Click here to email Christine or phone 07 548 0385
