Welcome to our focus on themes from Guided Autobiography, or “GAB” as we call it, for short! Guided Autobiography is a reminiscence writing method in which you reflect on prompting questions on a theme, then write two or three pages. Participants in GAB workshops share these narratives in a small, supportive group, led by a trained instructor. Students and Instructors who become members of the Birren Center* join a worldwide movement dedicated to enriching lives through life story writing and sharing.

For the rest of August, I’ll be posting mini-lessons from the GAB curriculum, accompanied by thematic prompts that Dr. Birren called “Sensitizing Questions.” These prompts stimulate thinking and trigger memory recall on specific themes.

“The themes and sensitizing questions act as a guide, just like a guide for a fisherman. They lead you to good fishing holes where the plump fish of memory are hiding,” Dr. Birren wrote in his 2001 book, Telling the Stories of Life through Guided Autobiography Groups.

Thanks to the Guided Autobiography world’s generous culture of sharing these writing prompts, I offer this set, originally published by Dr. James Birren in 2001. It was revised in 2021 by the Navigating Differences working group of the Birren Center.

Note, these questions are designed to help reflect on your life and forgotten memories. They are not meant to all be answered like questions in a survey, but rather, to get you thinking. Some questions will bring more thoughts or memories to your mind than others. After reflection, choose one to write on.

Branching Points: Sensitizing Questions

The directions our lives take are shaped by people, places, circumstances and choices. Our life journey takes many turns, influenced by big events such as relationships, illness, or war; or small events that had big outcomes like reading a book or going on a hike. The circumstances of our birth, race, ethnicity, and community, even events that took place before we were born, determine our life’s journey. Our reactions to these circumstances and the choices we make ultimately form the course of our lives.

What have been the branching points in your life? Do you know what events or circumstances caused them? Some branching points affect us positively and others negatively. Think of your life as a river winding its way to the sea. Where did it begin? Did it widen or narrow, add branches or merge with other streams as it flowed? What choices did you make to direct its course?

1. How was your life’s direction shaped by events before you were born?
2. What events after you were born then shaped your life? Why were they important? How did gender, race or ethnicity affect the course of your life?
3. Who were the significant people who influenced or changed the direction of your life?
4. What local, national, or global events impacted your life, such as war,economic downturn or public health disasters? How were you affected by these events? Sometimes unrest, protests, race riots, marches, boycotts, campaigns, civil or political responses are a direct result of these events. How did any of these affect your life?
5. Natural and environmental disasters can wreak havoc in our lives. Were you ever impacted by tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires or other natural disasters?
6. In your life, some things build you up and others tear you down. Which life events have built you up? Which have torn you down? Did any of the positive events become negative or vice-versa?
7. Moving from one part of the country to another, changing neighborhoods or schools or living abroad can lead to encounters with differences; economic, cultural, racial. How did these changes influence your life path? How did you adapt to or navigate these new circumstances?
8. What lasting effects have you experienced from a job change?
9. What branching points in your life were you responsible for? Were you able to choose the paths your life took, or were there outside circumstances you had no control over? What surprised you the most and least? What is a fond or funny memory you have from that time?
10. Looking back on your life, what helps you cope with the uncertainties of life? Do you welcome change, or try to hold onto the past?

© 2021 The Birren Center

*The Birren Center is launching its membership program later this summer–we’re in the final steps of preparing the website’s members area. Perks of membership include access to an online community, a searchable forum, courses, and other exclusive content.