Design concept, not the live site
Capture & Keepmemories, beautifully kept
How it works

What actually happens if you do this.

You do not have to organise any of it. I handle the whole process, gently, from the first phone call to the moment it's yours to keep.

The process, step by step

  1. StageI

    A message, then a call

    Nothing can be bought on this website. Everything starts with a message to me, and then a call about who the story is for.

    On that call we agree the shape of it: roughly how many conversations, and what you want to end up with. The price follows from that. There is no obligation to take it any further.

    From £250 for The Life Story. Nothing happens until you are sure.

  2. StageII

    We talk

    I spend time with you over a series of relaxed, recorded conversations, at your own pace and in your own chair. Most families do this in person. Where that is difficult, we work out between us how to do it rather than rule it out.

    A small recorder on a table between two people talking
    A stand-in photograph, not a client.
  3. StageIII

    I write

    I shape those conversations into a properly written life story, keeping the person's own voice throughout.

    I spend real time with the material, finding the shape of the story, and making sure it reads as something worth handing down, not a transcript. Your own photographs are restored where needed and woven through the finished book.

  4. StageIV

    You read the full draft

    You see a full draft before anything is finished, and before anything is printed.

    The second week I met Jean Joan, and after that I didn't cry at all. Illustrative only: the kind of thing a family spots in a draft.

    How corrections and final approval work in practice is something I would rather tell you exactly than approximate on a website. Ask me before you commit to anything and you will get a straight answer.

  5. StageV

    Your book is made

    The finished story becomes exactly what you want to keep: a professionally produced hardback, the original recordings, or a digital copy.

    Which of those you have, and how many copies, is agreed with me at the start rather than fixed in a package. Extra copies for the family are from £95 each, whenever you want them.

How much conversation this takes

There is no fixed session count.

The exact number of sessions depends on the person and the story, and is agreed together on a call rather than sold off a rigid table.

The Memory Kit, which is coming soon, will work differently: you go through a set of questions together in your own time, then send me the recording.

Some families need one long conversation.

Others need several shorter ones, spread over weeks.

Amanda Yaffe-Parker, founder of Capture and Keep

I conduct every conversation myself, and I write every story myself. Nothing is handed off.

Read about Amanda
The honest alternatives

Could you just do this yourself?

Could I just record the conversations myself? Yes, honestly, a phone and a quiet room is enough to start. The Memory Kit, coming soon, is built for exactly this: a set of questions to go through together, in your own time, at a much lower cost. The hundred questions and the recording guide are here now, and free.

So why pay someone to write it? Recording a conversation and shaping it into something someone will actually want to read are different skills. I spend real time with the material, finding the shape of the story, keeping the person's own voice, and making sure it reads as something worth handing down, not a transcript.

What if we're not ready for a full book? Say so when you message me. The Memory Kit is being built for exactly that, and until it is ready we can talk about the smallest sensible version. There is no obligation to take it any further.

What happens after you say yes

The questions people have once they have decided.

Family involvement
Family members are welcome at sessions, and if several of you are sharing the cost, tell me how many of you there are and we will work the practical side out.
Memory that's patchy
Sessions can be shorter, or split across visits, if the person tires easily or a diagnosis means some days are better than others.
The recordings
They stay between us. Nothing is shared beyond what goes into the book. Whether the edited recordings come to you as part of the project is one of the things we agree at the start, rather than something I decide for you. What to ask me about the recordings sets out exactly what to pin down.
Photographs
Yes, your own photographs are restored where needed and woven through the finished book.

Two things I would rather tell you exactly than approximate on a website: how corrections and final approval work in practice, and how long I hold the recordings before they come back to you. Ask me before you commit to anything and you will get a straight answer.

Explicit · here the making ends

See what this looks like for you.

Tell me a little about who the story is for. There is no obligation and no pressure.

Start a conversation See The Life Story See pricing

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