Recording Conversations With Dead People
“I don’t know what to do with all the letters and journals I found in Mom’s house after she died. Every time I read a few pages, I cry and feel depressed because she’s gone. I wish I could talk with Mom about how I feel!”
My friend, Connie, began to sob during our phone conversation. Her mother died three years ago, but Connie’s grief is still fresh. She feels bad when she reads through the letters and journals, and yet she can’t get rid of them. She’s not sure what she’s looking for, but this tangible evidence of her mother’s courageous life still feels too precious to throw away or burn.
I waited for Connie to blow her nose and take a few deep breaths before making this suggestion: “Maybe you could consider the letters and journals as raw material for a series of podcast episodes.”
Connie was instantly enthusiastic about this idea. She had wanted to do something with audio production for a long time. She had a few basic recording and editing skills. And, of course, she had me as an audio producer consultant. We agreed that this project would not only scratch Connie’s podcaster itch, but it could help her process her grief in a gradual and meaningful way.
After a bit of discussion, here’s how we decided Connie should proceed:
Identify a letter or journal entry she’d like to discuss with her mother.
Write what she’d like to say to her mother and make notes about her emotional response to the letter or journal entry. Pull in childhood or adult memories whenever possible.
Create a script, using content from the letter or journal entry and Connie’s response notes.
Practice reading the script until it flows smoothly, making edits as necessary so the reading sounds natural—like she’s not reading.
Record herself reading the script.
Edit the recording.
Once Connie has a well-edited recording, we’ll talk about the process of finding music and/or sound effects, plus naming, formatting, and distributing a podcast.
All that is coming up in future Magpie Chatter posts, dispatched every Friday.
