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About Julie Zander and Chapters of Life

A Natural and Time-Proven Talent

During a decade as a reporter, Julie McDonald Zander developed the interviewing skills to put people at ease and help them remember in a safe, friendly atmosphere. She crafts what the client might consider commonplace occurrences into life scenes that tell more about the world they lived in than a dozen pictures.

Julie enjoys listening to people talk about the old days, their joys and fears, heartaches and triumphs. As an editor for nine years, she’s developed the skills to take the raw material from interviews and write interesting, entertaining books that capture her clients' hearts and souls, as well as their speech and mannerisms.

   In 20 years as a journalist I have met few writers who care as much as Julie does about the people they interview and bring to life on the pages of a newspaper. …
   I worked with Julie for 13 years at The Daily News in Longview, first as a fellow reporter, then as her editor, and finally as part of a two-person team that directed the news coverage for a five-county area of Southwest Washington. She has a strong work ethic, is very honest, and extremely dependable. …
   If I had to choose a writer to interview my mother, or my grandmother, I can think of no one better than Julie. … I know she would do a great job of clearly and accurately telling the story of their lives, and I know the story would be fun to read. But just as importantly, I would send Julie to their house knowing that the experience of being interviewed and written about would be pleasant, and that when she left they would feel as if they just made a new friend.
Dell Burner Former city editor, The Daily News, Longview, WA

Part of the Community of Historians

In 2006, as conference program chair, Julie was in charge of organizing the 12th annual international Association of Personal Historians conference in Portland, Oregon, which drew 261 participants from throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia and England. She also served as conference registrar and helped organize the 2002 APH annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Julie served five years as Northwest regional co-coordinator for the Association of Personal Historians, organizing many meetings in Seattle and Portland to enhance the skills of personal historians throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Professional Writing Background

Julie has been a professional writer since graduating from the University of Washington in 1982. She worked at newspapers for nearly two decades. Over the years, Julie has held the following positions:

Owner and Senior Writer for Chapters of Life
Assistant City Editor, Region Editor and reporter for the Daily News in Longview, Wash.
Staff writer for the Daily Chronicle in Centralia, Wash.
Reporter for the Lewis River News in Woodland, Wash.
Legislative intern for the Columbian in Vancouver, Wash.

What you have in Julie McDonald
is a well-rounded newspaperwoman.
But underlying her considerable skills
is something more valuable—a strong
sense of responsibility. Her colleagues
often joked that Julie was afflicted with
“Catholic guilt” because she’d go to
great lengths to do her job right -
and to do the right thing. She was
our moral compass. Julie often helped
us make ethical journalistic decisions.
That was important to her. Robert B.
Gaston, Former managing editor,
The Daily News, Longview, WA

Julie obtained her bachelor's degree in Communications and Political Science from the University of Washington and has continued her education through many life-writing workshops, courses and conferences. She has received high honors for her journalistic storytelling and she has earned the respect of her personal history colleagues.

Learn more about the process Julie uses to create your memoir. She can create a personal memoir, a family memory book, an oral history or a spiritual legacy that preserves your memories forever. If you have a special event in your life, Julie can help you capture and record it so that you can always remember the details and stories that make life precious. We invite you to contact us today.

Family Memory Books • Personal Memoirs . Oral Histories . Spirtual Legacies . Capture an Event
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