Make Sense of What you've lived through
I help people organize and clarify significant life experiences—events, transitions, and periods that feel unresolved—by shaping them into a clear, structured written record.
This is not therapy. It’s not memoir writing. It’s narrative clarity.
This service is for people who have lived significant experiences but struggle to articulate what they mean. You don’t need therapy—you need help turning your experience into words.This is for:- People navigating divorce or major relationship changes- People facing retirement or major career transitions- People dealing with health challenges or major life shifts- Anyone experiencing narrative dissonance—you've lived a lot but can't express it coherently- Those seeking clarity, not publication- Those who want thoughtful, one-on-one support—not therapy or coaching
EXECUTIVES IN TRANSITION
You’ve built a long career, but can’t quite articulate what it all added up to or how it connects to what comes next. I help organize your professional narrative so you can see patterns, decisions, and meaning clearly.
Post-Divorce
Your story feels fragmented—what happened, why it happened, and how you got here don’t quite line up. This work helps organize the relationship narrative into a clear, grounded account you can understand and keep.
Approaching or Entering Retirement
Work shaped your life for decades, but once it ends, the story can feel unfinished. I help organize your career and life experiences into a coherent narrative that makes sense of what came before.
In Therapy or Post-Therapy
You’ve talked things through, but the story itself still feels scattered. This work focuses on organizing events and experiences into a clear written narrative—not interpretation or treatment.
Career Changers & Mid-Career Reflection
You have experience, skills, and history—but no clear narrative tying them together. I help organize what you’ve done and lived so the through-line becomes visible.
Seniors & Family Legacy
A long life holds many stories, but they’re often scattered across memory and documents. I help organize life experiences into a clear written record for personal understanding or family reference.
Making Sense of a Significant Life Event
Sometimes a single event changes how everything else is understood. This work helps organize that experience into a coherent narrative so it no longer sits unresolved.
This is private, one-on-one writing and editing work focused on organizing lived experience into clear, coherent written form. The emphasis is on accuracy, structure, and understanding—not interpretation or treatment.This work is:- Private, one-on-one work
- Focused on writing, editing, and organization
- Grounded in your own experiences and materials
- Conducted at a calm, respectful pace
- Delivered with complete discretion
- A clear written document you can keepThis is not:- Therapy or trauma processing
- Life coaching or self-help guidance
- Memoir coaching or publishing support
- Group programs, workshops, or courses
The process is straightforward, private, and paced to support careful, thoughtful work.1. Initial Consultation (30–60 minutes, no charge)
We begin with a confidential 30–60 minute consultation to discuss what you’re dealing with, what materials you have, and whether this work is a good fit. This conversation is exploratory and low-pressure, and there is no obligation to proceed.
If we decide to move forward, scope and next steps are agreed upon before any work begins.2. Working Sessions (60–90 minutes)
Once we begin, we meet for a series of scheduled one-on-one sessions, typically 60 to 90 minutes each. Sessions focus on talking through the experiences you want organized, one piece at a time.
You may bring notes, documents, recordings, or simply speak from memory.3. Writing and Editing
Between sessions, I organize and edit the material into clear written form, shaping it into a coherent narrative while staying true to your voice and experience.4. Final Document
You receive a structured written document that reflects your experience accurately and clearly. This document is yours to keep and use as you wish.
Fees are based on scope and are structured around a defined number of working sessions with professional writing and editing between meetings.
Each engagement below outlines the typical focus and services included. Final scope is confirmed after the initial consultation.
Focused Engagement
- 6 sessions over 6-8 weeks
- Professional editing and structuring
- Final document (15-25 pages)This engagement works best when the scope is contained and the focus is a specific event, period, or clearly defined theme.
- 10 sessions over 2-3 months
- Professional editing and structuring
- Final structured document (30-50 pages)This engagement is appropriate when multiple experiences are involved and the work requires deeper organization across a longer period of time.
Extended Engagement
- 12-16 sessions over 3-6 months
- In-depth professional editing and structuring
- Final document (50-80 pages)This engagement is designed for complex histories or extended life review, where pacing, session numbers, and scope are agreed upon in advance.
I’m Michelle Anderson, a professional writer and editor with over three decades of experience helping people organize complex material into clear, coherent written form.My background includes long-form ghostwriting, developmental and substantive editing, and research-heavy work across memoir, nonfiction, fiction, and professional publishing. Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients whose experiences were rich, complicated, and difficult to articulate.Life Story Editing grew out of a recurring pattern I saw in my editorial work: many people didn’t want to publish a book or tell their story publicly—they wanted to understand it. They needed structure, accuracy, and a written record that made sense of what they had lived through.This service applies professional editorial skills to lived experience, with a focus on clarity, discretion, and respect for boundaries.