TV and radio personalities Miriam O'Callaghan and Eamon Dunphy joined forces at the Mansion House in Dublin yesterday to promote a family history book which is being launched on the Christmas market to raise funds for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
Introduced by novelist Maeve Binchy, LifeStory has been created to enable Irish families, couples and individuals to begin the process of compiling and writing their own life histories.
Edited by The Irish Times columnist John Waters, the book is divided into 21 sections to help people to capture key moments in their lives. Each section has its own introductory passage taken from the memoir of a celebrated Irish author or personality such as Frank O'Connor, John McGahern, Gay Byrne and Nuala O'Faolain.
Another special feature seen throughout LifeStory are the first lines taken from the works of international figures such as Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Anne Frank. It is hoped that these first lines will encourage budding authors to start the process of recording their own life/family story.
Binchy said LifeStory could rescue the memories from a jumble into something coherent. "This book will become a family heirloom," she added, "and will ensure that the extraordinary life events of ordinary people will not be forgotten."
Waters said LifeStory was about sharing memories with the ones you love.
"LifeStory is a book that will be a timeless and treasured gift. It can be used by the young or old . . . It is truly a book of endless possibilities."
LifeStory is the fourth of the acclaimed special projects produced in recent years by the Irish Hospice Foundation.
The funds raised from its sale will support the foundation's Hospice Friendly Hospitals programme which aims to put hospice principles into hospital practice.
This five-year initiative, which was launched last May by President Mary McAleese, aims to introduce comprehensive standards around dying, death and bereavement in hospitals.
LifeStory retails at €40 and can be purchased through the website www. LifeStory.ie or by phoning 01 861 1580.
It is also available in bookstores.