Hi, I’m Annette.
I’m a writer and writing instructor, specializing in memoir. I teach others how to write stories from their family history through my online courses, books, and in-person workshops.
Exploring my family history changed my life. When I visited the Czech Republic in 2002, I felt so at home wandering the streets of my grandparents’ hometown, even though I had never been there before. I sensed so many undercurrents that I began to dig into the family history. While I have always written to understand my life, this trip sent me on the journey to become a writer. It was the seedling for my memoir Jumping Over Shadows and for learning how to write an interesting story based on family history, and eventually, for teaching others how to do the same.
My Books
“…a treasure chest of advice for any nonfiction writer.”
“Having read other books on writing memoir, I found this book the best at keeping it simple and clear while giving creative suggestions.”
“I’m gathering info about my family history by doing weekly Skype sessions with my parents, and I am trying not to panic about how I will turn this into a book later. This book gave me a lot of great ideas and a way forward.”
“A book that is hard to put down.”
“In this extraordinary work, Annette Gendler illuminates the borders and meeting points between Judaism and Christianity, Germans and Jews, American Jews and Israeli Jews. Writing with eloquent precision, she reminds us why converts to Judaism are among the most precious gifts to the Jewish people. This book confirms Annette Gendler as an indispensable Jewish voice for our time.”
Newsletter
Sign up for my newsletter The Art of Living & Writing and receive my cheat sheet How to Begin Writing a Story Based on Family Letters. You’ll also receive a bonus chapter from Jumping Over Shadows!
Latest Posts
Dad Was an Avid Letter Writer. How to Begin Making Something of his Letters.
Looping back to the beginning is a good way to end. Since I began this series of blog posts on turning letters into stories with How to Transform a [...]
What to Do When You Don’t Have Enough Information about a Fascinating Letter But Still Want to Use it in a Story
Civil War Letter (source: familytree.com) When researching family history, you might come across a letter that you find utterly fascinating. But you don't know much, if anything, [...]
Want to Use a Letter as the Basis for a Story? Here’s an Easy But Really Important Tip for Getting Started
A cache of family letters, or maybe even just one amazing letter written by an ancestor, is a great source for writing a story from family history. Martha McCallum's [...]