As genealogists, we are often so focused on finding our ancestors that we forget we may one day have descendants who want to learn more about us — and we could make it easier for them to do so.
Author Dr. David A. Kendall says, “Everyone matters and has important contributions to make to the future of our planet and humanity.”
In Dr. David A. Kendall’s new book, When Descendants Become Ancestors: The Flip Side of Genealogy, he encourages us to look forward to provide for future generations, instead of always looking back.
He first felt compelled to write about the value of genealogy in today’s society when he received his great-grandmother’s diary in the 1990s.
Dr. Kendall says, “Through transmission of our stories, each of us has the opportunity to be a teacher to future generations, including the yet-to-be-born. Life stories, experiences and conclusions are unique to each individual and we cannot know which ones might be helpful to a given descendant or to future generations. Our task is only to provide them.”
The book develops the premise that every person on earth begins life as a descendant, but concludes life as an ancestor. Dr. Kendall’s goal is to encourage readers to chronicle their lives and customs so that future generations will be informed of the journeys, heartaches, successes and plans of their past generations.
Published by Balboa Press, the 321-page book is available online in Kindle version only from Indigo and Amazon.ca in Canada. In the US, the hardcover and paperback versions are available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.
