Published May 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM CDT

Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell’s mother promised to write her life story. But when her mom passed, the few stories left on paper didn’t begin to cover her life.

“We know the surface stories, but I wish I would have sat her down, interviewed her, and gotten the deeper meaning to her stories and what shaped her life and values,” Fivecoat-Campbell said.

May is Personal History Awareness Month and Fivecoat-Campbell, a former reporter for The Kansas City Star, now helps other people ensure their history isn’t lost.

As a personal historian and legacy writer, Fivecoat-Campbell draws on years of journalism expertise to help people expand on experiences that do-it-yourself books miss.

Joyce Hoegerl grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, but her parents’ roots take shape on a family farm in Nebraska.

In order to preserve that history, Hoegerl purchased a do-it-yourself plan for her parents. Her mother found the process of sitting down each night to answer questions on the computer to be an unwelcome chore.

To make the process easier, Hoegerl contracted Fivecoat-Campbell to capture her parents’ life story.

Through a series of interviews with Hoegerl’s parents and other family members, Fivecoat-Campbell has captured how their family took shape and how they came to hold certain values.

“I saw the joy in their face as they were telling those stories. And you know, that builds upon itself, versus when you're just typing a story along the way,” Hoegerl said.

According to Emory University, sharing stories helps families bond and cope during challenging times.

Writing a full family history on average takes three to four months, according to Fivecoat-Campbell.

Hoegerl plans to give the finished book to her parents and sister as a gift. She hopes the book spurs more conversation between the generations.

“As we grow up, and as we're parents, we understand, we focus on our children and what's going on in their lives, and this gives us the chance to change that narrative,” Hoegerl said.

• Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, personal historian
• Joyce Hoegerl, client