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Family memories

Asking parents and grandparents, and recording their voices.

A grandfather reading a book with his grandson on the couch

Start with these

Questions to askForty questions to bring the stories back.Open the tool →
Gathering a parent’s storiesHow to ask a parent or grandparent about their life, record it, and keep it, including when memory is fading.Read the guide →
Life story questions for every decadePrompts from childhood to now, to answer yourself or ask someone you love.Read the guide →

Four habits for keeping family memories

Ask, record, keep, share. Simple steps drawn from the way national archives look after their collections.

See the four habits

Ask the questions only one person can answer.
Record who, what, when and where, and who told you.
Keep three copies on two kinds of storage, with one somewhere else.
Share copies, with a note for someone who wasn’t there.

About this topic

Ways to gather the stories of the people you love, from the questions to ask to keeping a recording of their voice.

Where to find help