Where you came from
Family, home, and the early years
You did not start from nothing. Somebody taught you what to want and what to hide, usually without meaning to.
These questions look back, kindly. Not to blame anyone. To see what you kept, and decide what to keep.
What is a sentence you heard growing up that you still live by, for better or worse?
What did your family do well that you want to keep?
What did home smell, sound, and look like? Write it so a stranger could stand in it.
Who in your childhood made you feel safe? What did they do?
What did you have to work out alone that you wish someone had taught you?
What were you praised for as a child? What were you corrected for?
Which of your parents' struggles do you understand better now than you did then?
What did you promise yourself your life would not be like?
Where do you feel you belong, and when did you first feel it?
What good thing did a hard childhood, or a hard year, leave you with?
What family story do you tell most? Why that one?
What would you like your younger self to know about how it turned out?
What tradition, big or small, do you want to start?