“i Hit The Muddy Ground While Shrapnel Fell All Around, Cutting Off Limbs From Trees. While I Laid There In The Mud, I Figured It Would Be Better To Be Muddy Than To Be Dead. When The Plane Was Gone, I Got Back Up And Returned To Fighting. Those Jerry’s Continued To Give Us Hell Every Day.””

Olivia Spallino Savoie creates living biographies.

The 24-year-old writer meets with Lexington residents who are 60, 70 or even 80 years her senior.

Together, the duo creates an heirloom that will outlast a lifetime.

105-year-old Aline spent a lifetime fishing.

84-year-old Larry farmed hundreds of acres.

Red survived 6 months down in the foxholes during World War II.

Glo taught high school for over 40 years.

The tales of one-of-a-kind storytellers go on and on.

What they all have in common is their encounters with Savoie.

Savoie goes into the homes of Lexington’s beloved parents and grandparents.

She interviews them and makes copies of their most precious photos.

Savoie then spends several weeks transforming the interview questions into unified life story books.

Finally, she publishes the books. She has since written more than 20 memoirs.

During her high school years, Savoie began spending summers in Lexington with her sister.

Here, she fell in love with the fascinating stories of neighbors, church friends, retirement home residents and any elder she came across.

After graduating from college in December 2016 with a degree in English and history, she wanted to return to Lexington to document stories.

“I’ve heard it said that every time an old man dies, a library burns,” Savoie says.

“And Lexington is full of libraries. Hundreds of them. I had to do something.”

But how does she get storytellers to open up? How does a young woman walk into the home of someone 50 or more years older and leave knowing enough to write a biography on their behalf?

“I come in a stranger, but leave a friend. Plus, I ask the right questions,” Savoie says.

Savoie began compiling a list of interview questions while still in college. She started with about 50 questions that delved into an entire lifetime. Over the years, she has grown her list to 175 questions.

“They really build the framework of a lifetime,” she says.

“Of course, during interviews, my storyteller deviates from the questions. That’s what I expect and want. The interview is just the guide through the complexities of so many years.”

At first, Savoie tested the interview questionnaire on her beloved grandmothers. Then, she wrote their life stories as keepsake books for her own family.

Once she knew for sure the interview questions were extensive enough to excavate an entire lifetime of memories, she began writing life stories for anyone desiring to preserve their life story in a book.

One storyteller, Aline, said that the interview “… refreshed memories that I almost forgot. It brought up things I hadn’t told my family before.”

Many families are astounded by the completed books.

One daughter of a storyteller named Stephanie said, “I didn’t know so many little stories about Mom. I guess I never asked.”

Another daughter, Iva, discussed what the book of her parents’ memories means to her.

“I’m so pleased that my grandchildren [and] mom and dad’s great grand kids will have something in writing to know a little bit of their history.”

You can find out more about Olivia Savoie and read excerpts from several life stories on www.RaconteurWriting.com .

“I hit the muddy ground while shrapnel fell all around, cutting off limbs from trees. While I laid there in the mud, I figured it would be better to be muddy than to be dead. When the plane was gone, I got back up and returned to fighting. Those Jerry’s continued to give us hell every day.”
-Excerpt from The Story of
Redellium Lindley Atnip