Sample Autobiography

Example of an Autobiography! Gathering the Information and Staying Organized

The most common example of an autobiography is still the written form. And when writing an autobiography, you have two primary choices.

You can start with a blank sheet of paper or a use a fill-in-the-blank format....basically a book (workbook) with questions, prompts and other activities to help you go back into your memory banks and pull out "memorable gems" that you've, perhaps, long forgotten about!

Sample Autobiography Worksheets to Get You Started

Put a blank sheet of paper in front of the average person, then tell them to write down some of the stories of their life, and they will begin to freak out!

Here is a sample autobiography worksheet. Just download, print and fill it out. You will find more worksheets like this further down this page.

An Autobiography Can Be Much Like Filling Out an Application for Employment

The More Stories Included in Your Autobiography The Better

Example of Autobiography - The Whole Person Concept

The people around you, parents, siblings, grandparents, friends etc all play/have played a role in your life's story.

It's my opinion that any worthwhile autobiography will also include details about these individuals that were so close to you. It will tell of your interactions with them and how they had influence on your life.

Questions and prompts dealing with others that have had influence in your life will also spark additional memories that can be included in your autobiography ... lifestory etc.

Sample Autobiography - What Should be Included in an Autobiography

Here is a short example of autobiography ideas and topics to include:

1. Full name


2. When you were born


3. Where you were born


4. Your parents names


5. Where you named after anyone?


6. How many brothers and sisters you have


7. Where in the birth order were you born?


8. Your hair and eye color


9. Right or left-handed?


10. Do you wear glasses? Yes or No

Timelines are magical! A timeline is a great way to outline the events of your life in preparation for writing your autobiography.

Use this sample autobiography timeline chart to start outlining your life. It will get the memories flowing! Print the chart out and begin by writing in the year your were born and each year after that.

Then start added major milestones in your life on the line next to the appropriate year. These are things like...

1. Started first grade


2. Birth of siblings


3. Graduated high school


4. A family move


5. Graduated college


6. Periods of employment


7. Death of family members etc.

Some sample autobiography questions and memory prompts might include:

1. My earliest memories as a child are...


2. My happiest moments, as a child, were...


3. The oldest relative that I can remember was...


4. When I "grew up" I wanted to be a ...


5. 10 early memories that I have of my paternal grandparents are...


6. I had stitches as a kid YES or NO


7. My favorite toy was...


8. My most memorable babysitter was...


9. My first bike was ...

What's a walk-through memory anyway?

Imagine... close your eyes and mentally walk back through physical locations (places) from your past. Your childhood home, your first home as a newlywed, your old school, your grandparent's homes etc

Start by doing a childhood home walk-through with this free worksheet.

Additional Topics to Include in Any Autobiography

Here are some additional examples of autobiography topics/sections. Some have portions of worksheets that I've developed. Feel free to download them (PDF format) and use them. Use any PDF reader to open these worksheets, such as Adobe Reader. Print the worksheets and fill them out.

• My Teen Years - Download Worksheet


• My College Years


• My Father


• My Mother


• My Grandparents - Download Worksheet


• Military Service


• Dating My Future Spouse - Download Worksheet


• Marriage


• Our First Home - Download Worksheet


• My Children

Making lists of all kinds, to help you recall certain events from your life, is one of the most beneficial and FUN activities you will do. I've developed a lot of these lists to create. You'll like these!

A list, or life list as I like to call them, is meant to spark memories. If you were to list every vehicle that you've ever own, it wouldn't necessarily be the actual list that is important to your posterity. But the memories associated with each of those vehicles (cars) might be. Memories are often attached to things...cars, in this example.

List Worksheet #1 List Worksheet #2


More Sample Autobiography Topics to Include...

• Favorites - Favorite holiday, book, color etc


• List of First - Download Worksheet (first kiss, first plane ride etc)


• Social Interaction - Download Worksheet


• Rapid Fire Questions - Download Worksheet (Give yes or no answers to quick, revealing questions)


• Daily Journaling Prompts


• Word Associations (Memories associated with "rain", "paycheck", "barefoot" etc?)


• Your Medical History - Can be very helpful to posterity to know this info


• Skills Learned

• "Most Social"


• "Best Cook"


• "The Quietest"


• "The Funniest"


• "Most into Politics"


• "The Best Gardener"


• "The Biggest Tease"


• "Most Educated etc"

Other sample autobiographies might be more formal in nature such as those for a school project, but I believe the information included here will also help in this area as well...you be the judge.

Despite which category you fall into, I congratulate you on taking on such a rigorous, yet very enjoyable, task.

If you'd like more worksheets, like those I included on this page, you will probably really enjoy my full 264 page autobiography template called Memorygrabber. You can instantly purchase and download a copy by following this LINK.

I guarantee that it will help you recall many pleasant memories from your past. Perhaps many that you would never have, otherwise, thought to record in your autobiography.



Special Note: If you found the information on this page helpful, please use any or all of the social bookmarking links below to let others know about the free worksheets on this page. Thank you!