Who Am I? — The Guardian of Memories

A short introduction on who I am, how I came to be a writer and why I want to live forever

As I read daily content on Medium, I’m always grateful to find a bio for one of the writers, especially if I like their work. My reading experience all becomes more personal then. Thinking if I’m that way, perhaps others feel the same, so here I go about me.

I was born in the early 1950s and raised in a bedroom community of San Francisco by two very devout Catholics and surrounded by three brothers. My parents lovingly had their rules for living a moral life (strict rules, I might add) and as I desperately tried to navigate them being the people pleaser-good girl I was, I also worked hard to keep myself out of harm with all the testosterone flying through the house. Sometimes I was successful, most times not — boys can be so rough. So, to remain in one piece, I spent many hours in my room making up stories in my head and writing in my journals.

I’d been faithfully writing privately for forty years. Then, in 2001, I found myself a single mom with four teenagers and felt the need for an audience, so I slowly created my work as I allowed my private and personal journey to become public with my first book, “My Life in a Tutu” (published by WriteLife Publishers) — the journey of a woman from childhood to her 50s trying to find that elusive thing known as perfection, but never did. It was meant just for my kid’s eyes, but life took it in a different direction and exposed it to the world.

This led me to have a column in the local newspaper entitled “Haugh-about-that” where I wrote about my life experiences and what I learned much in the style of the wonderful Erma Bombeck. I self-published two books of short stories from the newspaper, “75 Beats to a Happy Heart” and “A Grateful Heart is a Happy Heart.” In 2018, my next book with the same publisher came out, “The Promise I Kept,” the story of a daughter caring for her father in his final years. A promise to never put my father in a nursing home after my mom’s death had to be fulfilled.

I write about my life, thoughts, and experiences mainly for my children, but should others read any piece and find it resonates, such much the better.

Right now, my kids are busy with young families and don’t have the time to keep up with what I’m doing. But one day, I will be gone, and they will have all these stories that I have guarded in my heart (hence my title as the Guardian of the Memories) to remember our time together. After caring for my dad for nine years, I heard over and over how friends wished they had asked more questions of their loved ones. Once they’re gone, so are the stories unless preserved in the written form.

I write because I love it. I write because I keep learning more about myself. I write because I love sharing ideas. And, I write because I want to live forever. I was told while creating my dad’s book that there were three stages of death:

1. The first when your last friend dies

2. The second when you die

3. The third when no one says your name. If we all keep writing about our memories, and perhaps about our families, we will live forever because it was all written down

I look forward to exploring the Medium website and reading as many stories and articles from other amazing authors and engaging with thoughts and ideas. Should you be interested in reading any of my work, please go to Jackiehaugh1952.medium.com.

You can also find me at www.jackiehaugh.com.