“I was nervous to tell my tale. Julie was so easy to talk to, and I really enjoyed our sessions together. She was very non-judgmental, even when I told her my secrets. And when I couldn’t remember basic info about my family history, she was a geneology gem! But best of all, she shaped my story so it wasn’t bor-ing!”

I loved working with Marion Davenport to capture her life story in a beautiful book. What a delight! I also enjoyed working with her adult children, Bill Davenport and Amy Hamdan, as we added photos and designed the book.

From Marion Davenport:

“I was nervous to tell my tale. Julie was so easy to talk to, and I really enjoyed our sessions together. She was very non-judgmental, even when I told her my secrets. And when I couldn’t remember basic info about my family history, she was a genealogy gem! But best of all, she shaped my story so it wasn’t bor-ing!”

From Amy Hamdan:

“It’s a daunting task to chronicle someone’s big, fat, messy life. Julie did it with ease. And let’s just say that our family is not the easiest to please, but Julie handled us with grace and patience. We had her working odd hours to accommodate our schedule, which she did without hesitation. We were delighted with the finished product, and we were delighted with her.”

From Bill Davenport:

“My mother was getting older, and she wanted to leave her life story for future generations. I’m so glad we found Julie. It was such a pleasure to work with her. She did a great deal of research and guided us through step by step. The book looks great, my mother is thrilled, and we all enjoyed every step of the process together.”

A Decade of Knitting Together Family and Friends

By Henry Port Kirk III

“Hank and I were so glad to see you today and to share our excitement about volume 2 of HPK’s memoirs. We both were enriched by our relationship with you as we went through the process from early notes to publication. Without your patience, guidance, and expertise, the journey over the past two years would not have been as productive and fun. Thank you again for your encouragement, interest, and enthusiasm. Yes, we’ve birthed a second “baby.” Without our midwife, Julie, we could not have crossed the finish line.

“Blessings and gratitude abundant,

“Jenny and Hank”

“Julie is a master! My book was formatted for paperback with the utmost of care. She is fast and cares about the quality of work. Although it’s hard to imagine the final product in a book, I was thrilled to open the paperback version after she worked so hard. Julie is more than worth it!”

Julie Bonn Blank, author of Innocent Lives, November 13, 2021

The World of Henry Port Kirk III

“Writing my life story has been a productive and challenging project. My wife, Jenny, was the scribe. Julie McDonald Zander, our gifted editor, has been tremendous. She exudes enthusiasm and was always professional while sharing her expertise and willingness to make things right.
Julie provided encouragement throughout the process, and we are delighted with the result!
With sincere gratitude, we thank you, Julie.”

Hank and Jenny Kirk

What a treat to work with Robert and Sally Schaefer of Vancouver, Washington, to create and publish a memoir of their remarkable lives.

Here’s what Bob and Sally said about our work together.

“We are grateful to have found Julie McDonald Zander as our editor. She was very professional and helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed working with her. We highly recommend her as an editor.”

Robert and Sally Schaefer

August 18, 2021

I enjoyed working with Travis Hoppe to help edit, design, and publish the memoir of his uncle, Albert Erickson II, called “Crafting a Basic Family Life While Enjoying Nature.”

Here’s what Travis said about our experience.

“It’s been very satisfying and eye-opening working on this project with you. You saw Uncle Bert’s comments—he was delighted by your edits! I appreciate your experience, thoughtfulness, and insights and saw the very tangible improvements of the raw memoir to its final published version.”

Travis Hoppe

April 27, 2021

“My wife and I contracted with Julie Zander to help us write our memoirs. As we worked with Julie our project grew. Julie brought not only her ability to organize and document our story but gave us ideas and recommendations beyond our initial thinking. Julie also has patience. We did not realize how much photos and other documents would add to our story until we worked with Julie. We also didn’t realize how many proofreads are necessary.

“Julie kept both our text and photos on her computer, which made updates and changes easy to accomplish. Our end product of three books—our memoirs, my wife’s family story, and mine—turned out great. We couldn’t have accomplished such a project without Julie’s guidance and expertise.”

Lee Kearney, January 17, 2020

I enjoyed working with Lyle and Alice Leach to create their book. Their beautiful love story also was featured in The Columbian May 24, 2020:

Here’s what Lyle and Alice Leach had to say April 1, 2020, about creating their book:

“This has been one of the experiences of our life. You have added something that we didn’t know that we would ever realize; you know how it goes. Just meeting and knowing you helps us see people differently. Just knowing you makes our lives more complete. Thanks again for adding something we didn’t have before. It has been great working with you.”

Don Brenner of the Toledo Historical Society is selling the updated The Toledo Community Story and The Big Cheeses of Toledo. Here’s what he had to say about my help with the two books:

““I have known Julie for several years as a friend, member of our Toledo Historical Society, and author of our treasured publications. Many people I know follow her column in The Chronicle. Julie is a valued historian to Lewis County and especially Toledo. It has been a pleasure working with her on the revision of The Toledo Community Story and the creation of The Big Cheeses of Toledo 1985-2019. Julie is a town treasure and a friend to this community.”

Donald C. Brenner, August 2, 2019