In Their Own Words
A Collection of Autobiographical Writings
Rhondda Cynon Taf 2024

This collection is the product of an autobiographical-writing workshop, led by PhD student, Rebecca Davies, which ran as part of Altered Images, a three-year heritage project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and managed by Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries.

The aim of the workshop was to guide and enable participants in the somewhat daunting task of writing their own personal life stories, both for themselves, and for the preservation of the social history of Rhondda Cynon Taf. The group met for two hours a week, beginning gently with the theme of ‘Branching Points’, discussing those events and experiences which had affected the direction or flow of their lives, choices made and chance events, which had diverted life down a particular path. Participants wrote their pieces at home and returned the following week to share their writing which tackled the themes of family, childhood, education, work, love, health, holidays, celebrations, and leisure.

Each writer shared their personal memories and experiences through prose and poetry, while their lively and animated narrations brought their work to life each week. We have tried to replicate this experience by offering readers the opportunity to access audio recordings of the writers reading their pieces of work.

Please note that some pieces tackle challenging themes and may contain situations and language that some people may find difficult and may not be suitable for younger readers. Furthermore, the pieces have not been edited nor corrected as we felt it was important to present the authentic voice of each writer.

We hope that you enjoy reading and listening to our writers’ deeply personal accounts of their lives, told in their own words, which may inspire you to do the same.

*In Their Own Words has been published as a book. Copies can be found at your local library.