The diary you haven’t opened for years. Letters in a familiar hand. Photographs you meant to put in an album. You’ve kept them for a reason.
Perhaps you know the people in every photograph. You remember the house, the journey, what happened just before the picture was taken. Someone else might see a face and a date. You know the story.
That is what a memoir can give your family: more than the facts of your life. Your humour. The choices you made. What those years were really like, told in your words.
You don’t need to sort the whole drawer. One photograph, one letter or one memory is enough to begin.
Memoirs, biographies & family history
Your own memories, the life of someone important to you, or a family story shared across generations—we help bring the people, photographs and details together. We shape the writing around whose story you want to tell and who you want to read it.
One conversation gives us somewhere to begin.
Tell us about a photograph, a person you remember or the part of your life you most want your family to know. We listen, ask questions and discuss who the book is for. You can bring handwritten pages, a typed draft or a collection that has never been sorted.
Together, we decide what the project will cover and how you would like to work. We can write from interviews, develop the writing alongside you or coach you while you write your own account. We agree on the work, costs, review stages and material needed before beginning.
You talk. We follow the memories.
Interviews can happen over the phone or in person by arrangement. You don’t need to rehearse or tell everything in order. We ask about the people, places and events, notice the details that need another question and return to memories you want more time to consider.
As material gathers, we propose a chapter structure and develop the agreed writing. Photographs and letters can help us ask better questions, connect events and identify the names or dates that need checking with you.
A family can tell the story together.
By arrangement, we can come out to interview your family as a group or gather contributions individually over the phone. With everyone’s agreement, we bring those recollections into the project and work with your nominated reviewers.
Where memories differ, we ask rather than quietly choosing one account. We discuss what needs further checking and how to handle private or sensitive material, with you deciding what you are comfortable including.
Read your life on the page before it becomes a book.
You review the draft for accuracy, voice and the details that matter. We discuss corrections and work through the agreed revisions. This is where a missing memory can find its place, an unfamiliar phrase can be changed and a person can be properly introduced.
Once the writing is approved, we can coordinate the agreed editing, photographs, captions, cover and page layout. You review the relevant proofs before the book moves to your chosen printing or publishing route. Each stage and its costs are discussed, so you know what is included and what you will receive.
The experience we bring
We’ve helped many people develop their books, with lives shaped by farming, music, faith, military service, overseas careers and family. That experience helps us ask useful questions, notice the important details and keep the work moving.
How soon could you hold your book?
For a shorter memoir with material ready and prompt reviews, a timescale of weeks may be possible. We agree a realistic plan around your story, photographs and printing, along with the scope and costs before work begins.
Open the drawer. Let’s begin.
You may have been meaning to do this for years. You can take the first step now, without knowing how the whole book will turn out. Tell us what you have and what you would love your family to be able to read.
Let’s begin my memoirWould you like a little help getting ready?
Our free six-page workbook helps you gather memories, photographs and ideas. Print it or type into the PDF. Use whichever prompts help; you don’t need to finish it before contacting us.
Download the free memoir workbookNo email sign-up needed.