Category: Recording a Life Story
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
A family gathers around a kitchen table, a recorder humming as the oldest sibling asks about the first day of school. The conversation drifts from childhood games to…
Recording audio and video that will still be usable in thirty years
A rainy afternoon finds you setting up a small recorder on a kitchen table while a parent recounts stories about a childhood home. The conversation drifts from the…
Questions to ask a parent about their life
A rainy afternoon finds you sitting across from an aging parent, a notebook open, a recorder humming softly. The room smells of old books and coffee, and the…
Preserving digital memories
A family discovers an old Android phone in a drawer, its screen cracked but still functional. The device contains years of photos, text threads, voice notes, and a…
Organising family photos and documents
A box of faded prints sits under a bedroom bed, the edges curling and the dates barely legible. Nearby, a shoebox of handwritten letters and a stack of…
Preserving Immigration Stories: Recording a Family’s Journey to a New Country
Immigration stories sit at the heart of many family histories. The decision to leave a country, the journey itself, the first years in an unfamiliar place — these…
How to Interview a Sibling About Shared Family History
Siblings hold a unique position in a family’s story. They experienced many of the same events, knew the same people, and grew up in the same household —…