Finding Stories, Finding People: Gord Deyell’s Journey with GAB
Barbara Smith
Gord Deyell’s commitment to GAB grew naturally from a life’s work in the creative arts and storytelling. During his 40+ years as a prop master in the film and television industry in British Columbia (Henry Fonda and Orson Welles are among luminaries he worked with) and later helping seniors making transitions to senior living, he was drawn to creating engaging tools to help people tell their stories. Channeling his film and senior community experiences, he began Archive Our Lives, a documentary film company whose goal is to capture regular people’s lives. A journeyman musician who plays trumpet and piano and also composes, he sees music as a form of storytelling as well.
As someone who loves the narratives that shape our lives, he began to brainstorm ways to combine his artistic and technical skills with his love for storytelling into a new venture he could offer to older adults. His research led him to Jim Birren’s book, Telling the Stories of Life Through Guided Autobiography Groups, which he said he read cover to cover. Inspired to learn more, he found classes from the existing GAB web pages, and in 2019, took the GAB instructor training with Lily Bengfort and Leigh Morrow.
After his training, Gord didn’t immediately launch into teaching for the public but rather chose to bring his skills to care homes and assisted living communities. He gravitated toward this environment, because he recalled his mother’s experiences in a care home and knew this to be fertile ground for older adults to reflect on life’s stories.
Seeking to launch a GAB program in care communities, Gord started with cold emails, following up with phone calls which led to meeting with recreation directors to introduce the work. His ideas were received with enthusiasm, and his GAB programs were off and running. He conducts his courses in person and has adapted the GAB format to four-week classes, meeting for one hour each session, incorporating music, photos, special objects or “talking pieces” and other art objects that elicit memories for his participants to share. In one memorable class, he asked participants to bring a favorite piece of music that meant something to them. People lit up, he recalls, not just remembering a song but retelling the stories attached to it, a generative demonstration of how music becomes its own narrative thread in people’s lives. Desiring to make the course accessible, he charges a modest fee of $10, so that the offering is affordable but also encourages commitment.
Since becoming a GAB instructor, Gord has been generous with his time and expertise in supporting GAB’s growth and outreach to the community in a multitude of ways including assisting in the expansion of the Birren Center website, presenting at the 2025 GAB Summit, and creating a more robust GAB presence on YouTube. His One-Page Web Builder course, which he now offers online through his website www.archiveourlives.com, has given GAB instructors essential tools for business growth and marketing.
GAB instructor Ansley Dauenhauer took Gord’s One-Page Web Builder class last year, and now, with the website she has developed, she speaks to its value in the enhancement of her own GAB course, “I feel much more comfortable with the technology aspect of my business,” she says, adding that with Gord’s patient and thorough instruction, she feels empowered to build her business and further expand GAB’s reach.
For Gord, the most rewarding part of teaching GAB is transformation. “You can read about Guided Autobiography,” he says, “but until you feel it … it’s like the difference between a recording of music and hearing it live.” Participants aren’t just writing stories; they’re reconnecting with themselves and each other in genuine, profound ways that often surprise them.
Always looking for new ways to share the magic of GAB, Gord hopes to offer the program soon to veterans.