BY LAURA KOSS
Correspondent
Matthew Litt Matthew Litt has done what many people spend countless hours at their desks daydreaming about.
This 29-year-old Manalapan native stopped dreaming and left his career as a Manhattan attorney to start his own business, Bridge Biography. His firm preserves a family’s history in an heirloom book for future generations – all through the memories and stories of the people who lived that history.
Litt did what some people think about doing but never seem to have the nerve to do.
“I don’t think it’s possible to leave a steady job to start something from scratch without intermittent bouts of self-doubt,” said Litt, who is the son of Michael and Marilyn Litt, of Manalapan.
He stressed how critical the need for support from family and friends can be during these times. He said his belief in Bridge Biography and the overwhelming encouragement he received to follow his dream has contributed significantly to the company’s initial success.
This was not a rash decision Litt made overnight. With years invested in costly education and five years’ experience in a law firm, Litt has what he advises everyone to have if they are planning to make a career change of this intensity: a parachute.
“Go for it. Life is too short to do something not gratifying to you,” he said, adding that it is important to have a backup plan while pursuing that dream.
A passion for history came at an early age for Litt. His parents remember his surprise when his kindergarten teacher could not name the U.S. presidents in order from Washington to Reagan.
While the two couldn’t seem more opposite, Bridge Biography and Litt’s legal profession have a sort of symbiosis with each other. His legal career provides the necessary skills in writing, research and interviewing, not to mention a strong work ethic stemming from tedious 12-hour days examining bank records for evidence of criminal activity.
Now he spends that time researching newspaper archives for joyous events such as weddings, World War II homecomings and academic achievements.
He compares the two as “spending my time investigating the worst of human nature [to] now being fortunate enough to spend my days talking about the best times of people’s lives.”
In a two-part interview process, Bridge Biography speaks directly with family members. These older generations lived through two World Wars, the deaths of presidents, prohibition, the civil rights movement and more.
The older individuals remember everything from being drafted off to war to wearing shoes made of cardboard during the Great Depression. Yet they still found time for the Jazz Age, Babe Ruth, the Model T, falling in love and raising families. Sharing these stories is what the seniors cherish the most. Listening to and preserving these stories is Litt’s job.
The interviews are conducted in two-hour sessions, preferably in the client’s home or wherever they are most comfortable. Litt’s straightforward, outgoing character guides the seniors into a stream of consciousness, “leading them to remember things they haven’t had the occasion to think about in decades.”
Litt has so far completed four biographies and is working on three more. He is working on another project involving a collection of memories concerning the day of the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
For more information on Bridge Biography visit www.bridgebiography.com or call (908) 770-7533.