My Path To Personal Historian
My eighth-grade yearbook career aspiration was “to be a writer.”
Somehow I got a little sidetracked. The “helping people” part of me took over for a while.
I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1979 and did hospital work as a Registered Nurse.. In 1990, I earned a Master of Arts degree in Health Education. I enjoyed a decades-long career in healthcare, both in clinical practice and as an administrator. Most recently (2007 – 2017) I served as the Director of Quality for a rural New England Community Health Center. I managed both large-scale and small-scale projects in quality improvement, but I was also known to colleagues as someone they could ask to edit and proof their written work, just because I loved doing it. That part of me, the writer part, was always present. In 2005, I jumped into professional writing doing freelance non-fiction articles for regional publications. I dabbled in fiction and won a few prizes in writing contests. I enjoyed (and still enjoy) these writing pursuits, but an inner voice that said “help others write” became loud and insistent.
In 2016, while contemplating how I should go about answering the call to help people write, I stumbled on Oliver Sacks’ book, Gratitude. Dr. Sacks wrote Gratitude just prior to his death from terminal cancer in 2014. In this small volume he expresses his gratitude for a full life of purpose, his regret at time running out on that full life, and his legacy of lessons learned. That little book inspired me to combine my love of writing and skills with people to help others tell their stories with courage and intention. Reading that small book galvanized my desire to help others write their stories, leading me to start my personal historian writing business, Peggy Rosen Writing, LLC.
I’m thrilled to combine writing and helping people by providing professional services in story, personal story, and memoir.