Meet the Staff

Megan St. Marie

President and Co-owner

I have served as president of Modern Memoirs, Inc. since 2019, when my husband, Sean St. Marie, and I purchased the business from founder Kitty Axelson-Berry. With degrees from Smith College and Simmons University, I bring to my work a passion for the written word, a love of fine bookmaking, and a fascination with history.

Books have always been at the center of my professional life. Before coming to Modern Memoirs, I worked in independent bookstores, museums, libraries, and academia, with adjunct and contract faculty positions at Simmons University, Mount Holyoke College, Boston University, and several other colleges in New England. While I continue to deliver guest lectures, keynote talks, and professional development training on a freelance basis, I am returning to the classroom part-time in the fall of 2025, not as a professor, but as a PhD student. My doctoral studies in Religion and Philosophy, with a concentration in Women’s Spirituality, will take place through the California Institute of Integral Studies, and I am excited to see how this new path will enrich and inform my work at Modern Memoirs.

Under my birth name, Megan Dowd Lambert, I am a published author of more than a dozen trade books for children and adults, as well as many essays and book reviews. While reading with my seven children inspired much of that work, my father’s extensive genealogy research into our family history fuels my current writing projects about my Irish- and Franco-American roots and my faith and spirituality.

Helping my father publish his memoir soon after Sean and I became owners of Modern Memoirs was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. This work built on my earlier editing of his brother’s self-published memoir several years before I considered making publishing my professional focus. Both experiences taught me a great deal about our family and affirmed the value of life-review writing and intergenerational storytelling as means of self-discovery and deepening familial connections. It is an honor and a thrill to help authors at Modern Memoirs publish their books to share with family, friends, and other readers, and I am profoundly grateful for the outstanding team working with me on our clients’ projects.

Sean St. Marie

Vice President and Co-owner

I was a forty-something, never-wed bachelor with no kids when Megan and I met in 2013. We married the next year, and I became stepfather to her five children. We’ve since welcomed two more sons into the world, and the seven children were aged 1-22 at the time of our purchase of Modern Memoirs. This moment marked the bittersweet end of my three-year stint as a stay-at-home dad—the most rewarding and demanding role I’ve ever had. Today I am happy to help Megan run the business, which has grown and flourished in the years since we became co-owners.

I’m a book-lover like Megan, which led me to complete a minor in English Literature along with my BS in Business Management from Westfield State University. I earned an MS in Library and Information Science with an Archives Management concentration from Simmons University. During my graduate studies I completed archival organization and exhibition projects for family collections at Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries and the Jones Library Special Collections in Amherst, Massachusetts.

While my separate role as the Administrative Coordinator for the Emily Dickinson Museum is my full-time job, my archivist training positions me to support Modern Memoirs client projects, particularly in the areas of Genealogical Research and Family History Preservation. This sort of work took on special meaning for me when my mother, Ann Sheridan St. Marie, passed away in 2019. She was a consummate storyteller and the beloved matriarch of our extended family, and our family’s greatest comfort in the wake of her loss arises from the surety we have in her lasting impact on our lives. She and my father, Terry St. Marie, a U.S. Navy veteran with passions for photography and history that he passed on to me, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2018, and we all treasure our memories of my mother and are determined to preserve them and pass them on to the next generations. Because I know how important this is to my family and me, I am eager to help others research and preserve their own personal and family histories.

Alison "Ali" de Groot

Director of Publishing

I am proud to say I’ve worked at Modern Memoirs since 2003. I hold a B.A. in Anthropology from Tufts University, and a master’s in teaching from the School for International Training/World Learning. For 15 years prior to discovering Modern Memoirs, I taught English, ESOL, and writing at the university level, both in the U.S. and abroad, including at Boston University, Middlesex and Greenfield community colleges (MA), and Accademia Britannica in Rome, Italy.

My life changed when I met Modern Memoirs founder Kitty Axelson-Berry in 1997 at a workshop she was hosting on Bereavement Book writing. The first and most arduous project I undertook was writing a Bereavement Book/memoir of my late mother, entitled Learning to Speak (self-published, 1999). It was then I learned the healing benefits of writing and bookmaking. 

Through Axelson-Berry and her non-profit American Tribute Center (ATC), I volunteered to write a Tribute Book for the bereaved family of a 9/11 victim. This book, entitled Sands of Pearl, was published by ATC (2004) and given pro-bono to the family as a gift and a way to honor the deceased. It became clear to me that working at Modern Memoirs was a true calling.

My roles at Modern Memoirs include communicating closely and frequently with authors to discern their specific needs; editing and proofreading manuscripts; overseeing that book design reflects the tone and voice of the author, and generally making sure our clients are completely satisfied. The details of production enthrall me, as I help clients choose materials such as beautiful interior papers, leather or cloth covers, foil stamp colors, marbled endsheets, and satin ribbon markers to enhance their precious books.

To the job, I bring my cultural awareness, compassion, and undivided attention to clients. I have a deep respect for those who wish to preserve their stories. To keep my own craft alive, I hosted First Person! First Night!, a monthly public reading event for memoirists, held at the Modern Memoirs office for 13 years. I designed and published an anthology of these writers, entitled The Reader’s Chair (Modern Memoirs, Inc., 2018). More recently, in collaboration with artist Michele Théberge in Berkeley, CA, I created a poetry/art book entitled The Deep Dark Light (Modern Memoirs, Inc., 2025).

When not at work, I’m usually practicing qigong, swimming, writing, or dancing—currently modern dance, Kazdance, jazz, Sevillanas, and improvisational movement.

Liz Sonnenberg

Genealogist

I found the perfect fit working at Modern Memoirs since 2020. I bring with my Certificate in Genealogical Research a lifelong passion for genealogy and a determination to uncover each ancestor’s true (or at least most accurate) story in every project I undertake.

My journey began in my younger years, researching the family history of my two grandfathers, whom I never got to meet but about whom I discovered and preserved valuable information. Later, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, I received a B. A. in Journalism and Linguistics, two disciplines that complement my fascination with detective work and history. Finally, I earned a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, an institution that emphasizes professionalism and adherence to the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS).

The GPS is a set of guidelines established by the Board for Certification of Genealogists that ensures credible findings by requiring exhaustive research, source citations, analysis and correlation, resolution of conflicting evidence, and soundly written conclusions.

Though the internet has made huge volumes of information available to family historians, it has also made the perpetuation of inaccuracies very easy to do. As an experienced professional, I help our clients verify and document the true account of events as well as the historical context that shaped their ancestors’ lives.

Whether you're a seasoned researcher, an author seeking to enrich your memoir, or just beginning your genealogical journey, I can help you organize your materials and transform them into cohesive narratives; create visually appealing genealogy charts and family trees; supplement your life story with an accurate record of your forebears; or research, document, and write your genealogy for you.

The important thing is to preserve your family history in writing and share it with others so that it will never be lost.

Nicole Miller

Book Designer

I have dedicated my career to the art of visual storytelling. It’s a passion that began in childhood, exploring the public library with my mother and watching as storytellers brought illustrations to life. My artistic roots, inherited from my grandmother—a painter and singer—and my grandfather—a pianist—inform my professional philosophy: I truly believe a book should be more than a collection of pages; it should be an experience.

Over decades of diverse professional experience, I’ve found that my background in both design and strategy gives me a unique perspective. My journey began with a formal education in graphic design and business management, which I put into practice for 14 years as an illustrator and designer in the fast-paced world of advertising. I later moved into marketing leadership, where I learned to think strategically about how to connect a product with its audience. This distinct experience gives me a singular advantage: I don’t just create beautiful visuals; I craft a final product that genuinely resonates with its intended reader and stands out in a crowded market.

My approach is a true partnership with the editorial team, and my purpose is to bring your story to life. I specialize in creating custom styles that capture the unique heart of each narrative. My expertise goes beyond aesthetics to include the critical details of typography, layout, and production, ensuring a cohesive and immersive experience for the reader. The result is a flawless, industry-standard final product—a unique and authentic masterpiece that is a true extension of your voice.

Kitty Axelson-Berry

Founder and Consultant

I founded MODERN MEMOIRS, Inc. in 1994, following twenty years as a writer for and editor of award-winning print newsmedia and public radio commentary. My mother was my inspiration. I wanted to understand and document her personal history. In part, it was a way to honor her and those who came before her. In part, it was a way to ensure that future generations would know and remember her and those who came before her. In doing so, I found I'd hit a chord that reverberated for many other people as well. They wanted to gather and preserve their own or a loved one's personal history.

Since then, my small company has self-published over 200 memoirs and family histories for clients in the U.S., England, France, Israel, Colombia, Spain, and other countries. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve so many people in this profound way.

When I left the newspaper world to start this business, it was a new idea. I decided to bring together like-minded personal historians so that we could share cutting-edge theories and technologies concerning memoirs, the nature of memory, the best technologies, papers, contracts, and so on. I founded the Association of Personal Historians (1995), an international trade association. After the APH and my own business were established, I co-founded the American Tribute Center (2001), a non-profit that specialized in pro bono writing and private publishing of Tribute Books for bereaved families of 9/11.

Born and raised in West Hempstead, New York, I graduated from Smith College in 1971 with a major in religious studies and a minor in music. The next step in my personal journey was an exploration of the differences between needs and choices, going back-to-the-land without electricity or water for several years. At some point, my name morphed from Cathy Marsha Lebow to Kitty Axelson-Berry.

I became certified in conflict transformation by the Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (CONTACT) graduate program at the School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont (2013); this included solo travel in Rwanda, South Korea, and the Middle East to understand more about peace, truth, justice, reconciliation, and non-violent activism.

Photograph by Julie Moran, Eyestory Photography (2016)

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And in memoriam: Arthur McLean, proofreader extraordinaire, gentle soul, who once wrote:

“I want you know that I’ve never had a better job than Modern Memoirs and I’ll be at the front of the line of those ready to help it grow (and I offer much more than major-league proofreading experience at The Wall Street Journal, Modern Memoirs, and the Advocate newspapers). Mostly, though, I can’t think of a better place to be than at Modern Memoirs.”