How it works
From the first question to the finished book, in six steps. You can stop between chapters at any time.
Try the free sample
Answer five short questions and read a one-to-two page preview in the style you like. No payment or account needed.
Choose a book and a format
Each book covers a set of chapters (for example childhood, work, love, family). Choose a PDF, print-ready files, a softcover or a hardcover.
The interview
Each chapter has 5 to 8 questions. After every answer, one or two follow-up questions ask about the names, places, smells and feelings that bring a memory to life. Answer by typing, by speaking into the browser, or by uploading recordings. Progress is saved, so you can stop and come back. Family members can add memories too.
Every chapter, written and reviewed
When a chapter's questions are answered, it is written in your chosen style. You read it, comment on any part, and see the text before and after each change. Two rounds of changes per chapter are included. Names, dates and places are kept in your story notes, so they stay the same in every chapter.
Photos and design
Upload photos and choose where they go, or let us place them. Pick a layout, see the cover and flip through every page.
Final approval and delivery
You approve exactly what will be printed. Then you get your PDF straight away, or your printed book is made and delivered.
Writing styles
The same short memory, written in each style. You choose before the first chapter and can change once for free.
Warm & conversational
Like listening to them talk at the kitchen table. Plain words, gentle humour, close to how they speak.
Every Sunday my father took me to the bakery on Mill Lane. I can still smell it now: warm bread, a bit of burnt sugar. He always bought two iced buns, one for me and one he said was for my mother, though I never once saw it reach her. When I asked him about it years later, he just winked and said, "Some things are better kept between a man and his bun."
Classic memoir
Rich and reflective, like a well-loved book. Scenes, detail and a gentle look back.
On Sunday mornings the town was still half asleep when my father and I set out for the bakery on Mill Lane. The windows were fogged with warmth, and the air inside smelled of fresh bread and sugar caught at the edge of burning. He bought two iced buns every week, one for me and one, he insisted, for my mother. I never saw the second bun reach home. Only much later did I understand that those walks were his way of giving me an hour that belonged to the two of us.
Biography (third person)
Told about them rather than by them, like a biography. Good for memorial books and family histories.
Every Sunday, Tom's father walked him to the bakery on Mill Lane. It was the one hour of the week the two of them spent alone together. His father always bought two iced buns, one for Tom and one, so he said, for Tom's mother, though Tom never saw it arrive home. Asked about it decades later, his father only winked: "Some things are better kept between a man and his bun."
Letters to family
Written as if speaking straight to the reader: a child, a grandchild, the next generation.
You asked me once why I still buy iced buns on Sundays. It goes back to my father. Every Sunday he walked me to the bakery on Mill Lane and bought two: one for me, and one he said was for your great-grandmother. It never made it home. I think those walks were the best hours of my week, and I think they were his too. So if you ever see me with an iced bun on a Sunday, now you know who I am thinking of.
Questions
Who answers the questions?
The person whose story it is (we call them the storyteller). If you buy the book as a gift, you invite them with a link and they answer at their own pace. You can also sit together and answer it with them, or family members can add memories and recordings.
Do I need to be good at writing?
No. Answer the way you would talk. Short answers are fine, and you can speak instead of typing. The writing is our job.
Can the storyteller speak instead of typing?
Yes. Every question can be answered by voice in the browser, and you can upload existing recordings (MP3, M4A or WAV). You check the written-out text before it is used, so names and places are spelled right.
Can we add photos?
Yes. Upload photos and choose which ones go in the book and where, or let us place them. We warn you if a photo is too small to print well.
Will I see the book before it is printed?
Yes. You see a page-by-page preview and the cover, and you approve the exact version that will be printed. Because every book is personal, printed books cannot be returned after that approval, so please check it carefully.
Who can see our stories?
Only you, the storyteller and anyone you invite. We never publish or sell your stories. Recordings are deleted after the text is checked. See our privacy policy for details.
Start with a free sample
Answer five short questions and read the first page of the story before you decide. No payment, no account needed.