Professional overview
Dr. Michael Williams is the founder of Memoir Studio, where he helps individuals and families preserve meaningful life stories through guided memoir and legacy projects. His work combines thoughtful interviewing, clear structure, and a supportive creative process, helping clients capture memories in a way that feels authentic, purposeful, and enduring. Michael’s approach is grounded in real life: take manageable steps, make steady progress, and create a finished memoir or legacy piece that can be treasured and shared across generations.
Dr. Williams brings nearly fifty years of experience in counselling, group facilitation, and storytelling. He spent a decade working with young people and their families, helping them better understand their lives and the stories they told themselves and one another. Since the late 1980s, his roles have included Senior Tutor of English at the University of Edinburgh, graduate of Oxford University, Principal Teacher of English, and pastoral counsellor at the Edinburgh Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) School.
Following a storytelling tour in the Middle East with the “Healing Words” project in 2009, Dr. Williams established his story coaching practice in Scotland, where he worked with individuals as well as numerous community and corporate organizations. More recently, he has become a certified End-of-Life Planning Facilitator through Before I Go Solutions and a Guided Autobiography and Life Portfolio Instructor through the Birren Center.
Dr. Williams is a celebrated storyteller, award-winning writer, and the author of The ABCs of Storytelling: Reflections of a Story Coach (2024). He is also a sought-after memoir coach who regularly writes about memoir and life writing on Substack at memoirstudio.substack.com and on Medium at https://medium.com/@doc-the-storyteller.
“The course was organized with a natural flow from beginning to end. Great leadership. It improved my writing skills, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn far more about writing—and about myself—than I expected to.” — Lynda
My mission is simple: help you turn your memories into something you can revisit—and share—for years.
My path here wasn’t a straight line—it was a series of moments that made me pay attention.
My path here wasn’t a straight line—it was a series of moments that made me pay attention.
For a long time, I thought meaningful work had to look a certain way: a clear title, a predictable path, and a “next step” that made sense on paper.
But the more I listened to people—family members, friends, clients—the more I realized the most valuable things we carry aren’t on a resume. They’re the stories behind the choices, the lessons learned, and the love that shaped us.
Memoir Studio grew from that realization: if we can capture the right stories in the right way, we don’t just preserve the past—we give future generations a gift they can actually feel.
That’s why I built Memoir Studio around clarity and care: thoughtful prompts, gentle structure, and a supportive pace that respects your life.
Whether you’re telling your own story, capturing a parent’s memories, or creating something for your children and grandchildren, my job is to make the experience feel safe, meaningful, and surprisingly enjoyable.
And yes—we’ll keep it practical. You’ll always know what’s next.
What makes my approach different
I don’t believe in forcing your story into a template.
Instead, we focus on what’s true: your voice, your values, your people, your turning points.
You’ll get a clear structure (so you’re never staring at a blank page), plus the freedom to tell it your way.
The result is a story that feels like you—and reads like something your family will actually want to keep.
