📖 Record your parents life stories
Prepare a small set of life-story questions, record with permission, and preserve a conversation your family can find later.
reflection
Saves privately on this device. No account needed.
Plan the experience
Planning estimates, not a price quote or a deadline. Your version may vary.
- Time
- A 30–60 minute first conversation, plus time to label and back up the recording.
- Cost
- A phone or recorder you already have can be enough.
- Where
- A quiet, comfortable room, or a call using a recording method everyone agrees to.
Before you start
Ask whether your parent wants to be recorded and who may hear the result. Choose one period of their life, not every possible question. Test your device and agree that they can skip questions or ask you to stop.
How you would actually start
Start with concrete memories
Ask about a childhood home, a first job or a person they remember clearly. Use follow-up questions about places, sounds and ordinary routines. Let the conversation wander when an unexpected memory matters more than your prepared list.
Record, then check the file
Make a short test and play it back before the full conversation. Keep the device close enough for clear speech and avoid interrupting every pause. Afterward, confirm the complete file plays and ask if anything should remain private.
Make it findable
Name the file with the person, date and main topic. Store a second copy separately and write a short contents note with important names spelled correctly. Share only with the people your parent agreed to include.
What counts as done
At least one recorded conversation is playable, labelled, backed up and kept under the sharing agreement you made together.
A few good questions and attentive listening beat an exhaustive interview. More conversations can follow at their pace.
When you finish, mark it fulfilled in My list. You can remember it in your weekly journal.