Written in Time

After hearing a women’s gripping chronicle about growing up in post-World War II Germany, Sheridan Hill was hooked on recording people’s untold stories. The Black Mountain-based biographer and historian has spent the past eight years recording client’s life experiences, the content of which she uses to build their personal biographies. “Every time I take a personal story, I get a piece of world history that hasn’t been told,” says Hill. Drawing on her background as a newspaper editor and creative writer, Hill interviews her subjects and cross-checks their accounts against records and archives to build an historically accurate context for their bios. She creates an archival bound book that, through prose, family photos, and genealogical charts, follows the individual’s time line—explaining the choices they made, the struggles they encountered, and the wisdom they gained from both. The result is an invaluable heirloom for future generations.