50 questions to ask your parents about their life
A thoughtful interview guide covering childhood, family, work, love, turning points, values and the stories future generations will want to hear.
Read guide Family story guides
Preserve the stories behind the photographs.
Practical resources for families who want to record the voices, memories, values and life experiences that can otherwise disappear between generations.
How to interview your grandparents and preserve their stories
A simple way to prepare, record naturally, ask better follow-up questions and keep the conversation emotionally comfortable.
Read guideHow to preserve family memories for future generations
Organize photographs, home videos, voice recordings, documents and family stories before important context disappears.
Read guideWhy family stories disappear even when the photographs survive.
Families often keep albums for decades but lose the meaning around them: who is in the photograph, what happened that day, why a move was difficult, how two people met, or what a parent believed mattered most. Once the person who remembers those details is no longer available to explain them, the image remains but much of the story is gone.
Record the context, not only the facts
Dates and names are useful, but future generations connect most strongly with scenes, emotions, decisions and everyday details. Ask what a childhood home felt like, what people worried about, what made them laugh, and which choices changed the direction of their life.
Keep the original material
Preserve raw interviews, photographs, home videos, letters and audio recordings even after you create a shorter family film. The documentary makes the story easy to watch and share; the archive keeps the complete historical source material for the family.