Gregory J. Leeson
The Life Chronicler

My name is Gregory Leeson, and I am a chronicler of people's lives, as written in my 2024 book Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: A Path to Reconciliation in Our Divided Times. I am also retired from my three careers: investment banker, software engineer, and project manager. I guess I could not decide what to be when I grew up. I am a dual American and Canadian citizen living in the United States. 
 
In 2015, I was the Master of Ceremonies at my 40th high school reunion, a role I have traditionally assumed on those occasions. Whether running a reunion, jumping out of a car to direct traffic, or something else, whenever the occasion arises, I am comfortable taking the lead and running a show. Given my role, I felt obligated to converse with as many of the 85 classmates as possible. In doing so, I heard some great stories. Were these the kids with whom I grew up? I wanted to know if we all had these stories. We do, and I believe they are worth telling. 
 
In my youth, I was an avid reader of biographies. While others were reading popular books such as Treasure Island, To Kill a Mockingbird or Anne of Green Gables, I was reading more obscure works such as It's Good to be Alive, I Am Third, and The Wizard of Westwood, among others. Those books dealt with real-life experiences such as prejudice, dreams, triumph, failure, loss, etc. The lessons I gleaned from those books have led me to where I am today.
 
Reflecting on those 2015 reunion conversations, I thought about my own life. It, not surprisingly, has had a few highs and lows. Furthermore, I concluded that we all want our life stories heard. That is what The Life Chronicler Project is all about. From May 1, 2022, to June 8, 2023, I embarked on four road trips and drove 26,403 miles to meet and interview people in 53 cities, 39 states, and eight provinces in the United States and Canada. I gave 19 speeches and interacted with nearly 1,000 people.
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In addition to the interviews, I posed a carefully crafted question to many of the people I met about our social division. Their responses were illuminating and, together with the interviewee's stories, provided the crux to the book's subtitle.