Whether it is an unbelievable tale from your past, a family history you want to leave your children or a collection of lessons life has taught you, you have a story to be told. But where to begin?
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society has the answer. The 29-year-old organization, which operates the Log House Museum one block from Alki Beach, is launching a memoir-writing series taught by Janice Harper, a longtime author, ghostwriter and contributor to the Huffington Post and Psychology Today.
Harper, a Michigan native with a doctorate in cultural anthropology who forged her writing and academic career in Tennessee and Texas, will offer the weekly series from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at the museum, 3003 61st Ave. S.W.

Tuition for the group classes (three or more students) will run $300 a month, with a rate of $400 a month for private lessons. A portion of proceeds will go to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. The ongoing series begins Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013.

“We are the storytelling organization for the Duwamish peninsula, so this series is a perfect fit,” says Clay Eals, executive director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. “We are fortunate to collaborate with someone who has the experience and the warmth to help people from any walk of life to be a success at preserving the precious stories of their past.”

Harper, who lived in the Alki neighborhood in the mid-1980s and returned to the area recently, feels personally connected to West Seattle neighborhoods and their residents. “To me,” she says, “West Seattle is like its own little town. It allows us to live in a big city without feeling like we are in a big city.”

She says the series is ongoing because some participants will want or need only a few sessions, and others will find it useful for months at a time. Participants will be able to drop in or out of the series as desired, and those wanting one-on-one help from Harper can sign up for private lessons, from which a portion of proceeds also will go to the historical society.

For more information on the memoir series, visit www.loghousemuseum.info. To sign up, e-mail Harper at drjharper@gmail.com. For background on Harper, visit www.janice-harper.com.