About Barbara Cooley

Short Bio

Barbara Cooley is a writer and family historian and a former college instructor and nonprofit administrator whose first passion has always been family history. Surrounded by beloved and fascinating older relatives from infancy, Barbara’s imagination was sparked by stories of how life used to be. It’s only recently that Barbara has been able to fully indulge that passion and she is making up for lost time. Barbara’s current projects include a how-to book designed to help others capture and preserve their own family history, the story of her brother’s fierce battle with leukemia, and an epic narrative detailing three generations of one line in her family that mirrors the story of America. She lives in her happy place along the Lake Michigan shoreline with her husband and rescue dog.

Long Bio
Barbara Cooley is a writer, author, and family historian who believes in the power of stories and family history to give meaning to lives and legacies. Writing her first stories at the age of 7, Barbara has used the power of storytelling throughout her career in both the education and nonprofit realms, and now in the written world of flash nonfiction, memoir, narrative history, genealogy, and family history.

Chronicling her own family stories in essay, book, blog, and multimedia formats, Barbara has essays included in two of famed humorist, Gina Barreca’s flash nonfiction series, Fast Women. “Thin Ice” in FAST FIERCE WOMEN is a poignant piece about one night in the hospital with her critically ill brother. “A Single Woman” in FAST FALLEN WOMEN is an amusing tale of how she disappointed her mother, a traditional woman, in the midst of feminism’s second wave.

A family historian by nature, Barbara began collecting her family’s stories as a young child when she was surrounded by beloved elders. While still in college, she recorded an oral history of her grandmother, who recounted stories of her life at the end of the 19th century and the early 20th. As an adult, Barbara honed her skills and started a small business helping others with the preservation of old family photographs, recipes, heirlooms, stories, and traditions. She also offered her services as a volunteer with hospice patients who wanted to capture their life stories. Research has shown that most people recognize the importance of family history and her experience confirmed this, but it also revealed that most are hindered by numerous obstacles including not knowing where to start. Driven to help others by making the process easier and less time consuming, Barbara developed her signature approach that makes for quick results for people of all ages.

Barbara’s current project is her how-to guide, due out in December 2023, based on that unique approach to preserving family history. In addition to not knowing where to start, Barbara identified other common obstacles such as the overwhelming nature of the project, the sheer number of family photos, and the common aversion to projects that require significant amounts of writing. Barbara’s book addresses those and other barriers and offers fast, easy ways to overcome them. She also conducts workshops and presentations based on her book, LASTING LEGACY: QUICK & SIMPLE WAYS TO PRESERVE FAMILY HISTORY, which is perfect for genealogists, personal and family historians, grandparents with stories still to tell, and those interested in preserving their family memories and heritage.

A former college instructor and nonprofit administrator, Barbara now devotes her time to her first loves, writing and family history. She is completing the story of her brother’s fiercely beautiful battle with leukemia, THIN ICE, due for release in 2024, as well as an epic historical narrative detailing three generations of one line of her family tree, due for release in 2025. Their lives mirror the story of the United States from the American Revolution through the Civil War. “Chasing Junius,” her engaging video series and blog about her forthcoming book, THE HATCH CHRONICLES: AN AMERICAN FAMILY, can be found here, and on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Barbara, who is solar-powered, lives along the Lake Michigan shoreline with her husband and their rescue dog. If she’s not writing you can usually find her planning research and other trips in their little motorhome or recharging on the beach.

Memberships

Barbara is a proud member and supporter of:

About the Ginkgo Leaf

Trees have long been a symbol of family, roots, and lineage, and the Ginkgo Biloba, the oldest living species of tree in the world, is symbolic of longevity and memory. What better symbol than a Ginkgo leaf for preserving family memories?