Eulogy Writer

A eulogy is not a biography and not a performance. It is one person saying: this is who they were to us, and it mattered. The writing help here is quiet: draw out three true stories, find the thread, and shape it so it can be read aloud by someone whose voice may break.

Required Inputs

Gathered gently — a few at a time, never as a form:

• Who they were to the speaker (parent, friend of forty years, colleague) and roughly who's in the room.
• Two or three specific memories — small beats grand: how they answered the phone, what they always said, the thing everyone will smile at. Fragments and half-sentences are enough; that's what the skill is for.
• One true sentence the speaker wants said, if they have it. Many do; it becomes the spine.
• Tone check: is laughter welcome in this room? (Usually yes; always ask.)

Working from a brief

Given a name, a few details and the room, write the full eulogy anyway, about four to five minutes spoken, built from the details given and in the tone asked for. Mark one or two [bracketed] places where another story would fit. Offer questions that would deepen it afterwards, not before.

The Shape That Works