Behind the Stories
The idea for The Stories Between began one day during a walk through a cemetery to visit my loved ones. As I glanced at the neighboring headstones, I found myself trying to piece together the mystery of the lives of the people buried there by the few clues revealed on their markers: a birthdate, a death date, maybe a quote. Maybe there were children buried nearby. Maybe a spouse. But the clues only led to more questions about these people: what were their stories? What happened during all those days between the only two days memorialized on their headstone?
Then in 2004, a close family friend, six-year-old Annie, was hit and killed by a drunk driver as she was leaving the circus with her family. Our stunned community rallied together to build her a memorial playground so she could leave behind a legacy that was otherwise stolen from her. We established the playground to be a tribute to not just Annie, but to any child who was lost too soon to accident or illness.
During my time organizing Annie’s Playground I met many families who wanted children they had lost to be memorialized through the playground and I realized their intense need to talk about and remember their beloved child. These families were hungry to talk, remember, laugh and cry over memories and stories of their children. But they often spoke with regret about how most people felt too awkward and uncomfortable to approach them and speak about their child and share their stories.
Once Annie’s Playground was completed, I took that experience and co-founded the Cool Kids Campaign, a non-profit devoted to helping kids with cancer have a higher quality of life. Again I saw firsthand the desire of the families to remember their children who had passed and to share stories to keep their children’s memories from fading.
These experiences and observations merged into what has become The Stories Between – a website that allows people to comfortably share stories and memories, giving the families and friends of a loved one the chance to learn even more about that person and how they touched other people’s lives. The Stories Between gives the family a positive, uplifting place to visit whenever they are feeling the need to be close to that person.
With the help of an amazing team – Kris McCurry at DigiDaze for all her graphic talent; the web programming team at A. Bright Idea, Anita, TJ, Rob and Melissa; and my sister Amy Paul for her support and copyediting – we have brought this platform for archiving and celebrating life to … well, life!
We feel The Stories Between will always be a work in progress to provide our clients with all the tools they need to present and preserve their stories for many lifetimes to come. We welcome your comments, thoughts and suggestions.
Thank you for visiting!
Sharon Paul Perfetti