Project Write Now Seeks Stories and Memories

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By Joseph Sapia
RED BANK – “My mom passed away two months ago,” said Lisa McLaughlin. “I’m all about the grief thing.”
But there is more to the story for McLaughlin.
And McLaughlin likely will tell the story Nov. 29 at “A Night to Remember,” Project Write Now’s fundraising event at the Two River Theater.
Project Write Now, a Red Bank-based nonprofit group that brings writing instruction to writing students – from school-age children to adults – is looking for more stories to be told that night. So, about 30 “I remember…” receptacles have gone up around the Red Bank area to collect the public’s personal stories.
“It allows people to share their experiences and stories,” said Jennifer Chauhan, Project Write Now’s executive director and co-founder.
Stories, according to Chauhan, others can relate to. Such as McLaughlin’s…
Years ago, McLaughlin’s mother – Bernice Kernan McLaughlin, who lived in Spring Lake when she died at 88 – took her ring and a ring of her mother’s (McLaughlin’s grandmother) combining the gems into a new setting.
A new ring was born. Then, it died.
“About a year ago, my mom lost the ring,” said McLaughlin, 53, of Red Bank.
When Kernan McLaughlin was dying, the lost ring gnawed at her.
“The last thing she said was, ‘The ring, the ring,’” McLaughlin said.

Look for Project Write Now “I remember…” boxes in the Red Bank area and jot your personal story. Stories will be considered for reading at the nonprofit, writing instruction group’s fundraising event Nov. 29.
Look for Project Write Now “I remember…” boxes in the Red Bank area and jot your personal story. Stories will be considered for reading at the nonprofit, writing instruction group’s fundraising event Nov. 29.

McLaughlin found the settings of the two rings and with a third setting she liked and asked a jeweler to melt them down and form a new setting. That was not viable, however, because the materials were different.
But then the jeweler found an inscription on one of the rings, noting the Christmas Eve, 1950, engagement of McLaughlin’s parents, Bob McLaughlin and Bernice Kernan. Because the jeweler memorialized the inscription in photography, “they’re going to melt it down and make a new ring for me,” McLaughlin said.
The shorts or “I Remember…” narratives will be read at the event by the author or a local celebrity or performed by various types of artists. They may also be posted on Project Write Now social media.
“There’s a lot of ways they can be shared by people,” said Donna N. Beriont, an event consultant working on A Night to Remember.
The way A Night to Remember will be run has its roots in a book Allison Tevald, Project Write Now’s co-founder and program director, used while working on her master’s degree in creative writing. The book is Joe Brainard’s “I Remember.”
“It’s a memoir in unique form,” Chauhan said. “It’s just a collection of memories of his life.”
His memories are simple, only a few words. So, the “I remember…” boxes around Red Bank will have a pen and a 3-inch by 3-inch paper attached for people to jot down their stories, either signed or anonymously.
A Night to Remember attendees also can bring their stories with them that night.

Allison Tevald, co-founder and program director of Project Write Now, discusses the book, “I Remember,” a memoir by Joe Brainard that inspires the nonprofit, writing instruction group’s upcoming fundraising event, Nov. 29.
Allison Tevald, co-founder and program director of Project Write Now, discusses the book, “I Remember,” a memoir by Joe Brainard that inspires the nonprofit, writing instruction group’s upcoming event.

The event also will have chefs – including Chuck Lesbirel of Ama Ristorante in Sea Bright and Cesare “Chez” De Chellis of B2 Bistro and Bar in Red Bank – preparing meals, and talking about them; photographers such as Christine Enna and Jenifer Rutherford and their photos; along with various other kinds of artists, such pianist Paul DiDario and musician Brian Kirk. Tickets are $125 each for the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. event.
“It’s the first time we’ve done it (this kind of an event) on a community-wide scale,” Chauhan said.
“And the whole community can participate,” Beriont said.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s a little scary,” Tevald said. “(But) art is scary because you’re taking risks.”
As for McLaughlin, hopefully, there will be more to her story – finding the ring.
Project Write Now is at 25 Bridge Avenue, Suite 130, Red Bank, 07701; 908-6750467; projectwritenow.org.