You order it as a gift. We call your mom or dad, ask the right questions, and simply listen — no typing, no apps, nothing for them to learn. In 3–4 weeks, their life arrives at your door as a beautiful hardcover book, with QR codes that play their actual voice.
Founding launch — now taking a small first batch of reservations. No payment until we've confirmed the details with you.
No year-long subscription, no weekly homework, no app to install. Just a handful of good conversations with a real person who knows how to listen.
We schedule relaxed phone calls and guide your parent through 8–12 questions — childhood, hometown, work, love, the hard years and the good ones. They just answer the phone and talk. No computer, no typing, nothing to set up.
We transcribe the recordings, edit them into warm, readable chapters in their own voice, and weave in the family photos you send us. You read the full draft and request changes before printing — nothing goes to press without your OK.
A 60–120 page hardcover book, printed and shipped within the US. Every chapter carries a QR code — scan it and hear Mom or Dad telling that story in their own voice. Extra copies for siblings are easy to add.
No pressure to order blind. The excerpt below is a fictional example written to show the exact format every chapter follows — our first families' books are still being made, so this is a layout sample, not a finished customer's chapter. Leave your email in the form below and we'll send you the full sample chapter as a PDF, free.
“The train took two days and two nights. Your grandfather carried the bedding roll, I carried you — you were three, and you slept through the whole thing, right through the snow…”
“By the time we got there, the lake had already frozen. Your father walked out on it the very first morning, just to prove to himself that a boy from the South could stand on water.”
Want the full chapter? Choose “Free sample chapter” in the form below and we'll email it to you — no payment, no obligation.
Email me the free sampleBirthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, a 70th or 80th celebration — most gifts are used up in a season. This one starts conversations while there's still time to have them, and stays on the family shelf for generations.
“I never knew that about Dad.” — the sentence this book exists to earn.
And the book's arrival isn't the end of it — we check back in with your family to hear how your parent reacted to reading their own story, and we remember them with a greeting on birthdays and holidays.
Not a subscription and nothing to renew. You pay for a finished book — interviews, editing, photos and, on printed packages, printing and delivery included. Comparable memoir services start at $69; we start at $59, with every package priced $10 below its comparable tier.
The complete book as a beautifully typeset e-book, with voice QR codes in every chapter — no printed book.
The full story in print — one hardcover book, shipped free to your door in the US.
More interviews, more pages, more photos — room for a much longer life story.
Our keepsake edition: the deepest interviews, the full heritage pages, and two hardcover copies made to be handed down.
Founding pricing — first-batch reservations lock in these four prices, each $10 below its comparable tier elsewhere. Printed packages include free US shipping (tracked mail); faster delivery is available at checkout for the carrier difference. Online payment opens shortly; reserving today costs nothing and holds your spot. We'll confirm the details with you first, and only then arrange payment.
A book is the heart of it — but a life holds more than fits between two covers. These optional extras build on your finished book; they're add-ons, not included in the packages above.
For siblings, grandchildren, and the family shelf.
An audio edition made from the interview recordings, in the storyteller's own voice.
Your family tree as a framed-quality art print for the wall.
The book, printed photos, and the family tree in one heirloom box.
Interested in any of these? Reserve through the form below and mention the extra by name in the notes — we'll talk it through with you when we confirm your book.
We agree on times that suit your parent's routine, then call them — a landline or any phone is fine. A friendly interviewer guides the conversation with prepared questions, one topic at a time, and records the call (with their permission) so we can transcribe it accurately. Calls are relaxed and unhurried; if they tire, we simply continue another day.
Not at all — the whole service is built around that. Your parent never touches a computer, an app, or a website. They just answer the phone and talk. Everything technical — recording, transcribing, editing, printing — happens on our side, and you handle the review and photos by email.
It depends on the package: the Digital Edition takes 2–3 weeks, Standard Hardcover and Complete take 3–4 weeks, and the Heirloom Edition takes 4–5 weeks with priority production. Interviews come first, then your draft review, then printing and delivery. If you're ordering for a birthday or holiday, reserve early and tell us the date — we'll plan around it.
Printed books are shipped to addresses within the United States. Every printed package includes free US shipping (tracked mail); faster delivery is available at checkout for the carrier difference. The Digital Edition is delivered electronically, so there's nothing to ship.
Yes — always. You receive the complete draft, read every chapter, and tell us what to fix, soften, or leave out. Nothing goes to print until you've approved it. If a story needs a detail checked, we can also go back to your parent on a short follow-up call.
Yes, and they should — the book is built around them. Just take clear phone photos of the prints (or scan them) and send them to us; we'll place each photo with the story it belongs to, add the captions you give us, and show you the layout in the draft.
Yes. Extra hardcover copies of the same book can be added at a per-copy reprint price — much less than the first book, since the interviews and editing are already done. The Heirloom Edition already includes two copies. Just mention extra copies in the form and we'll quote them with your reservation.
Almost everyone says that at first — and almost everyone is surprised by how much comes back once a good question opens the door. Our interviewers are patient, the questions are gentle, and there's no wrong answer and no deadline pressure on any single call.
Right now we take reservations first: send the form below, we'll confirm the details with you personally, and only then arrange payment — work never starts before you're sure. Online checkout is coming soon. If you change your mind before the interviews begin, your reservation simply lapses and nothing is charged; we'll confirm the full refund terms with you in writing before any payment is taken.
Tell us a little about your family and we'll reply personally — confirming the plan, the timeline, and (only when you're ready) payment.
Prefer email? The form prepares a copyable summary you can send us any way you like.