Making a life story book.Three ways side by side.

Writing it yourself, loose voice memos or My Life Tales: what you get with each way.

Buy now £49See the differences
  • The storyteller only has to talk
  • A hardcover book with the real voice
  • Pay once, no subscription

Grandma & Grandpa proof, 2,500+ stories told, Choose from over 200 questions, A unique & timeless gift

What do you get with each way?

A writing service also gives you a book, but the storyteller writes everything. Voice memos keep the voice, but stay loose files.

Our book

Writing it yourself

Voice memos

No writing

yes
no
yes

No app or account needed

yes
no
no

The real voice kept

yes
no
yes

Questions to answer

yes
yes
no

Written out automatically

yes
no
no

Printed hardcover book

yes
yes
no

QR code with every chapter

yes
no
no

How it works

Not a book you write yourself with a pen. Your loved one tells stories over the phone, and we turn them into a book in their own words.

Step 1200+ questions

Choose the questions you want to ask

Browse our questions, from childhood to love, write your own or add an old photo. We send one at a time to the storyteller, by WhatsApp or email.

An older man smiles at his tablet on the sofaStep 2Grandma & Grandpa proof

The storyteller speaks the answer

One tap on the link and the storyteller can start, with or without video. No app, no password. Rather type? That works too. All at their own pace: a question a week, or more often if they like.

A written-out chapter in the book
Step 3

We do the writing

Every answer becomes a written chapter. Choose a word-for-word transcript or a flowing story. You can edit every word.

See how it works

No fuss with technology. All they have to do is talk.

It arrives as an ordinary message. One tap on the message and they start talking.

Learning to skate

  • What if they're not good with phones?

    They don't need to be. One tap on the message and the question is there. No app, no account, no password.

  • What if they don't know what to say?

    They get one question at a time and say whatever comes to mind, just like at the kitchen table. No writing needed.

  • What if they slip up?

    That's fine. They can pause, start again and play everything back. We take out the slips and filler words.

Photos, stories and their voice, kept together in one book.For the generations after you.

A page from the book: QR code at the top, the title Zomers in de duinen, an old photo of a caravan and the story
  1. 1QR code: hear and see them tell it
  2. 2A photo from back then
  3. 3The story, written out
Book printed in the NetherlandsAn open My Life Tales book with a photo, story and QR code on one page

What families say

“We cried and laughed together when the book arrived. All those stories from years ago, finally on paper.”
Hans en Susanna
“My mum told me things I had never heard before. The loveliest gift I have ever given.”
Jennifer
“One question each week, and after a few months there was a real book. I had not expected it to be so easy.”
Diana
“My dad is no writer, but he can certainly talk. Now the grandchildren read his stories.”
Marja
“I thought my life was nothing special. Holding the book changed my mind.”
Truus
“With his photo on the cover. Now the whole family wants their own copy.”
Peter

More than a book

The book is what remains. This is what happens along the way.

A father and his young son stand with their backs to the camera at the edge of a field
Pieter ordered this book for his father Jan, to hear how he grew up himself.

Everything in one price. Kept for generations.

Your book of stories

£49

  • One full-colour hardcover book, up to 400 pages
  • Finish the book at your own pace
  • Every story written out automatically, right away
  • Unlimited stories and photos
  • Beautiful layouts
  • Data stored securely in Europe
Buy now

30-day money-back guarantee.

More comparisons

What families ask us

Not at all. They get a WhatsApp message or email with one link. They tap it and talk. There's no app to download, no account to create and no password to remember. If you can answer a phone, you can do this.
That's what our questions are for. Each question is designed to bring back a specific memory, and they can answer in 30 seconds or 30 minutes. There's no wrong way.
As often as suits you. By default it's one question a week, but you choose: every day, a few times a week, every other week or once a month. The storyteller doesn't have to keep to a schedule. They can tell a story sooner when they feel like it, and skipping a week is fine too. You can change the pace at any time, or pause the messages for a while.
Whenever you like. You can collect a year of answers or go through the questions faster. The book contains all the chapters up to that point, each with a QR code to the recording.
Yes. Invite as many people as you like to ask questions, add answers of their own and read along on a private family page. That costs nothing extra.
The storyteller's, exactly as it was recorded. We write out the text and make it pleasant to read, but the recording behind every QR code is their real, unedited voice.
After a story, the storyteller can take a photo of the print with their phone. Or you can scan your photos yourself and upload them.

Start the book of your parent or grandparent.

Setting up takes about five minutes, and the first question goes out this week.

Buy now £49Give as a gift
A My Life Tales book on a table.
Someone scans a QR code in a My Life Tales book.
Two My Life Tales hardcover books.
A wrapped gift with tags.
Order now£49