Latest Articles
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…
Reflecting at a milestone birthday
A calendar on the wall shows the date of a birthday that marks a full decade—perhaps the 40th, 50th, or 60th. A photo album lies open, its pages…
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 —…
50 Questions to Ask an Elderly Parent Before It’s Too Late
There is a particular kind of grief that comes not from losing someone, but from realising you never asked. We put off the big conversations because there will…
Preserving someone’s story after they die
A week after a loved one’s passing, the house is quiet, but the phone is full of voicemail messages, handwritten notes, and scattered photographs. The urgency to keep…
Life review questions
A kitchen table holds a stack of old photo albums, a notebook with faded ink, and a laptop open to a blank document. The items are waiting for…
Writing an Ethical Will: Passing on Values, Not Just Possessions
Most people have heard of a last will and testament — the legal document that distributes possessions after death. Far fewer have heard of an ethical will, also…
Writing a legacy letter
A kitchen table holds a stack of photographs, a handwritten note, and a USB drive that contains a recorded message. The note explains why a particular family recipe…
Preserving a Sense of Place: Recording the Homes We Have Lived In
Of all the threads running through a life story, place is among the most evocative. The homes we have lived in, the streets we knew as children, the…
Interviewing grandparents
A rainy Saturday afternoon finds you sitting opposite a 78‑year‑old grandfather, a photo album spread on the coffee table, his hands resting on a worn‑out watch. The room…