Telling Your Stories: Memoir Panel Discussion featuring Michael Alexander, Nan Doyal, Chrissy Kolaya & Lindsay Major

Have you ever thought of writing the story of your family, documenting the lives of your ancestors, or sharing your own life journey?

On March 19, 2026, the Johann Fust Library Foundation will host a panel discussion on the challenges and rewards of writing about real people, navigating memory and truth, deciding what and how much to tell, and choosing how to share your work with others. 

Topics of discussion may include: 

• How to shape personal experiences and history into compelling narratives 
• Researching family history and integrating historical contexts into your work
• Finding story in real life - balancing honesty with compassion 
• Deciding whether to write non-fiction or re-cast a life-story as fiction 
• Developing a narrative voice, choosing a point of view, writing as participant and observer 
• Publishing and sharing your work - keeping it within the family, or distributing it to a larger audience 

Michael Alexander set out in 2021 to create a written record for his family of his own father’s life. The endeavor, however, evolved into a much larger project– a discovery of a time and place, and a legacy from which others could learn. In June 2025, his book On The Wing of Eternity was published. It is a first-person narrative of a young man’s experience during WWII, compiled from journals, letters, and personal accounts. 

Nan Doyal is the author of Dig Where You Are –How One Person’s Effort Can Save a Life, Empower a Community, and Create Meaningful Change in the World (2017). Her book was awarded a Gold Medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association and was chosen as a Finalist for the Foreword Indies Award in 2018. Nan is the founder and Executive Editor of Casper Press, an independent publisher of fiction and non-fiction books. 

Chrissy Kolaya teaches in the MFA program at the University of Central Florida. She has designed and taught graduate and undergraduate courses on contemporary fiction, the history of prose style, editing for creative writers, and a range of other topics. She is the author of a novel, Charmed Particles, and two books of poetry, Any Anxious Body and Other Possible Lives. She will teach a memoir class on March 20 and 21 this year. 

Lindsay Major graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in Philosophy and English Literature. In 2021, she wrote the biography of her aunt, titled Lindsay Hughes Cooper: A Portrait. Lindsay is also a poet and avid reader. She served on the Johann Fust Library Foundation Board for six years, including two as president. She is one of the foundation’s literary advisors.