Thanks to all who entered our family history publishing contest with Abbott Press. We enjoyed hearing your unique family stories!

It was beyond difficult to narrow the field, but we did it. These winners’ entries left us wanting to read more about their ancestors:

• Grand-prize winner Shirley Booth-Byerly of Robertsdale, Ala., wins a complete publishing package from Abbott Press.

• First runner-up Karen Merrill Martin of Manzanita, Ore., will receive the Writing Your Family Memoir Family Tree University independent study course.

• Second runner-up Julie B. Cosgrove of Fort Worth, Texas, has won My Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by Sunny Jane Morton (Family Tree Books).

I hope the contest got more people thinking about sharing their family history with relatives. If you’ve been putting off getting your family’s story down, here are five common excuses and why they won’t cut it.

If you’re not ready to tackle a family history writing project, try these six ideas on for size: They’re shorter-but-still-meaningful ways to share your family stories.

But if you’ve been dreaming of recording your ancestors’ tales, you can get in-depth help in the Family Tree University course Write Your Family History: Create a Captivating Record of Your Family’s Story with Sunny Jane Morton.

Need inspiration? My favorite family history is called Family by Ian Frazier (I got to interview him for Family Tree Magazine, and I was a nervous wreck). Here are some other family histories you’ll enjoy.