Memoir: Walk With Me
Impetus: My father-in-law impressed me by writing his own memoirs one chapter a year. Click here for his chapters.
The PBS TV documentary about the teenage brain caused me to consider my own memories, starting this project in 2002.
Abstract: The overall memoir explores my adult focus upon viable faith after being raised completely secular. The memoir begins with research about my parents, their families, my wife's background, and her mother's family. It examines character formation in my peripatetic youth, computer advances and unusual roles during my 37-year career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the technical explosion of early microcomputers with my woefully naive side-business called Briley Software, and various travel observations. The faith aspects cover churches in which I taught adult Bible Classes of my own authorship for decades, 29 years as General Secretary for the Bible Study Groups at LLNL, and 17 years as high school Director in the AWANA program. I discuss my 35-year marriage with Anne during her numerous daunting health dilemmas until her death. I wanted far less medical activity for Anne and far less family drama with our adopted teenagers.
Over the past twenty years (2002-2021), upon my mother's, wife's, and mother-in-law's deaths, I uncovered estate archives that filled significant gaps with family data unknown to me. I am grateful for cousins and extended family who entrusted me to collate long-hidden family secrets judiciously of our parental and grandparent generations. This helped me learn about my mother's early life and comprehend my difficult father. The project contains maps, diagrams, hundreds of photos, and hundreds of quoted external sources giving contextual background. Each illustrative component appears directly within the appropriate parts of the story. In 2021, I standardized the format of the 1000+ pages across the 13 current chapters.
Some might use my story to alter unfair stereotyping of Judeo-Christian values or lack of such values within the social milieu (for whatever decade you read this memoir). Appendix E lists recommended books with a brief overview of each.
The PBS TV documentary about the teenage brain caused me to consider my own memories, starting this project in 2002.
Abstract: The overall memoir explores my adult focus upon viable faith after being raised completely secular. The memoir begins with research about my parents, their families, my wife's background, and her mother's family. It examines character formation in my peripatetic youth, computer advances and unusual roles during my 37-year career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the technical explosion of early microcomputers with my woefully naive side-business called Briley Software, and various travel observations. The faith aspects cover churches in which I taught adult Bible Classes of my own authorship for decades, 29 years as General Secretary for the Bible Study Groups at LLNL, and 17 years as high school Director in the AWANA program. I discuss my 35-year marriage with Anne during her numerous daunting health dilemmas until her death. I wanted far less medical activity for Anne and far less family drama with our adopted teenagers.
Over the past twenty years (2002-2021), upon my mother's, wife's, and mother-in-law's deaths, I uncovered estate archives that filled significant gaps with family data unknown to me. I am grateful for cousins and extended family who entrusted me to collate long-hidden family secrets judiciously of our parental and grandparent generations. This helped me learn about my mother's early life and comprehend my difficult father. The project contains maps, diagrams, hundreds of photos, and hundreds of quoted external sources giving contextual background. Each illustrative component appears directly within the appropriate parts of the story. In 2021, I standardized the format of the 1000+ pages across the 13 current chapters.
Some might use my story to alter unfair stereotyping of Judeo-Christian values or lack of such values within the social milieu (for whatever decade you read this memoir). Appendix E lists recommended books with a brief overview of each.
These copyrighted files from my memoir need my permission for distribution or re-publication.
Unless specified otherwise, Copyright(c) Harry Briley Living Trust
(You may download these chapters as personal treasures just in case this website becomes unavailable.)
Unless specified otherwise, Copyright(c) Harry Briley Living Trust
(You may download these chapters as personal treasures just in case this website becomes unavailable.)
Family History: Third Edition
Setting Stage My Mother&Family My Father&Family 1/12/22 6/7/22 3/8/22 |
Formative Years: Second Edition
Childhood Passages Coming of Age 12/10/23 10/24/22 |
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College Years: Second Edition
Socorro Before 1980 - 5/18/22 College with Purpose - 6/8/23 Anne and Family - 2/14/22
Socorro Before 1980 - 5/18/22 College with Purpose - 6/8/23 Anne and Family - 2/14/22
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Livermore Roots: Second Edition
Glory Years Hitting My Stride Isolation/Recovery Songs of Our Faith A New Song
1976 - 1989 1990-1999 2000-2005 2006 - 2010 2011 - 2020
9/27/23 8/26/23 7/12/22 7/16/18 12/24/20
Glory Years Hitting My Stride Isolation/Recovery Songs of Our Faith A New Song
1976 - 1989 1990-1999 2000-2005 2006 - 2010 2011 - 2020
9/27/23 8/26/23 7/12/22 7/16/18 12/24/20
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Appendices:
Curricula Vitae - 12/5/20 Recommended Books - 12/31/23 Analysis of Tongues - 6/14/15
Curricula Vitae - 12/5/20 Recommended Books - 12/31/23 Analysis of Tongues - 6/14/15
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Chapters in Progress:
- Chapter 12B - Anne's Decline (2006 - 2010) - Raw data collection done
- Chapter 14 - Untitled (2021 - Date) - Collecting Data
- Appendix G - Facilitation as a Skillset
Writing Process
A high school friend, Ronald Palmer, while he wrote his risqué memoirs, offered me writing tips in mid-2013. In the memoir process, my own chapters are in the first stage called "Collecting the Data". Some chapters are in a second stage of arranging common themes together to make a story line. Please suggest improvements, report errors, or offer background material.
Chapter revision dates reflect fresh information from relatives, their archives, estate papers/letters, or newly found photos.
External Sources
The chapters use hundreds of external sources to flesh out details. These sources observed an event better or defined an historical fact unknown to anyone born after 2000. Instead of referential footnotes, I edited/redacted these explanatory sources for use directly within the story line, usually indented as boxed offsets with its bibliographic citation. I used [braces] for my overt changes made to the external material while retaining the intent and flavor of each original source. I dated photographs as best able. The many photos outside my personal creation credits each photographer and/or publication.
Last Updated 12/15/2023
A high school friend, Ronald Palmer, while he wrote his risqué memoirs, offered me writing tips in mid-2013. In the memoir process, my own chapters are in the first stage called "Collecting the Data". Some chapters are in a second stage of arranging common themes together to make a story line. Please suggest improvements, report errors, or offer background material.
Chapter revision dates reflect fresh information from relatives, their archives, estate papers/letters, or newly found photos.
External Sources
The chapters use hundreds of external sources to flesh out details. These sources observed an event better or defined an historical fact unknown to anyone born after 2000. Instead of referential footnotes, I edited/redacted these explanatory sources for use directly within the story line, usually indented as boxed offsets with its bibliographic citation. I used [braces] for my overt changes made to the external material while retaining the intent and flavor of each original source. I dated photographs as best able. The many photos outside my personal creation credits each photographer and/or publication.
Last Updated 12/15/2023