Category: Recording a Life Story
Preserving Family Stories Before They Stop Being Told
There are stories in every family that exist only at family gatherings — the ones that get told around a table, that make everyone laugh or go quiet,…
The Questions You Wish You Had Asked
One of the most common regrets people carry after losing a parent or grandparent is the questions they never asked. Not big, dramatic questions — but the ordinary…
Capturing Craft Knowledge Before It Disappears
There is a particular kind of knowledge that lives in the hands — the knowledge of how to make something, repair something, or tend something that was learned…
Recording a Life Story with Audio: A Practical Guide
A life story does not have to be written. For many people, speaking is more natural than writing, and a recorded voice carries something no transcript can fully…
How to Create a Family Tree From Scratch: Free Tools and Where to Start
Building a family tree from scratch can feel overwhelming — the scope is unlimited, the records are scattered, and you may not know where to begin. The approach…
Using Family Objects to Unlock and Preserve Stories
Every family has objects that carry more weight than their physical size suggests. A cracked teacup. A handmade quilt. A pair of cufflinks that came from another country…
How Sensory Details Bring a Life Story to Life
There is something quietly powerful about writing down the small things — the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the sound of rain on a tin roof during childhood…
Writing up a life story
You have a stack of cassette tapes, a folder of handwritten notes, and a dozen digital recordings that capture family members recalling birthdays, wars, and everyday chores. The…
Recording audio and video that will still be usable in thirty years
You have cleared a quiet corner of the living room, placed a small tripod on the coffee table, and set a phone on it to capture a conversation…
Questions to ask a parent about their life
You sit across the kitchen table, a recorder or notebook in front of you, and the conversation turns to the years before you were born. The details of…
Preserving digital memories
A family album that lives only on a phone or a social‑media feed disappears the moment the device is replaced, the app is retired, or the account is…
Organising family photos and documents
You open an attic box and find a jumble of glossy prints, brittle negatives, a handful of slides, and a cassette of home movies. The items are mixed…