My History

By

John Lawrence Giutronich

Foreword by Kathryn Coughran

Working on John Giutronich’s life story with him has been as rewarding for me as the experience of writing it has been for him. It has been a pleasure to watch him embrace the process and grow both as a writer and personally.

When John first attended one of my community college courses, he was a relatively new writer with a passion to write his life story. His claim to fame was writing and producing end-of-year plays for his church group, each of which was a send-up of an earlier popular television comedy series.

I watched John move on from these beginnings, shift his focus to his ancestors and personal stories, enrol in further courses and ultimately my monthly Ancestral and Personal Stories Workshops. He struggled with all the tough questions which come with taking on such a project. Four years on, he has pulled together well-researched family information and his memories, to create a tale of the union of four families through marriage and across several generations.

Sad at times, funny at times and thought-provoking at times, the results of John’s efforts are a credit to him and testimony to his focus and tenacity. Anyone who takes the time to read this book will come away with a wealth of knowledge about the families involved, and a greater understanding of the man who wrote it.

 

 Kathryn Coughran

December 2014