An interview plan:

Imagine you were writing your autobiography…

• What would the table of contents look like?
• What vivid memories you would want to include?
• Who are some of the personalities who would appear in your story? What do you remember about them? Why did they matter to you?
• What places would be mentioned? What do you remember about them? Why did they matter to you?
• What objects would be mentioned? What do you remember about them? Why did they matter to you?
• What else has been important to you? Activities? Foods? Stories? Songs? Why did they matter to you?
• When in your life have you had your strongest emotions? When were you happiest? Saddest? Angriest? Most excited? Most hopeful? Most surprised? Most in love? Most betrayed?
• When have you felt most at home in a group or place?
• When have you felt most alien?
• How would you conclude your story?
• What do you hope the reader would take away with them?

Tips:

• Probing questions should be posed as requests for more information: “Tell me about…”, “Describe what happened when…”, or invitations to interpret or explain, “What if…?, or “Why…?”
• With memories, try to draw out concrete sensory content: What was seen, heard, felt, smelled or tasted?
• With recollection memories, probe for both 1) the earliest and 2) the most vivid memories.
• It is likely you will never make it past the first question. Incorporate the other questions into the first.