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Know the person, not only the facts
Move beyond names and dates into the moments that shaped a life.
A private family-story project
Know them more fully. Let yourself be known.
Ask a parent or grandparent about the life they lived before you knew them — or prepare your own stories for a child or family member. The Life Arc Keepsake helps turn four real memories into a private book, in the storyteller’s own voice.
You do not need to tell an entire life. One true story is enough to begin.
I want to know them better
Gather stories with a parent, grandparent, partner or another adult close to you.
I want my family to know more of me
Prepare your own approved stories for a child or the people who matter to you.
Guided digital kit · Four approved stories · Private by default · €49 before local VAT
One story first
A project that can grow gently
In their own words
Every story is reviewed before it is kept
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Keep the storyteller’s natural voice
Shape each memory carefully without making it more dramatic or certain.
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Leave something personal
Create a book a child or family member can return to in years to come.
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Finish a meaningful first volume
Four approved stories are enough to make the first keepsake complete.
Why these stories matter
The stories families miss are often the ordinary ones.
Not only the dates or achievements, but what a day felt like, what changed someone, what they laughed about and what they carried forward. This short illustrative film introduces that idea. It is fictional and is not a customer story or testimonial.
Illustrative fictional film. It is not a customer story or testimonial.
A gentle truth
Not everyone has the same chance to ask.
Some people can sit down with a parent today. Others know the ache of questions that can no longer be answered. That experience deserves to be acknowledged, not turned into guilt or a sales tactic.
The Life Arc Keepsake does not recreate a voice that is gone. It is made for stories that can still be shared by a living adult — and for parents or grandparents who want their children or family to know more of them in years to come.
There is no need to tell an entire life. One true story is enough to begin.
A calm way to move forward
Carry one story through four simple stages.
There is no fixed schedule and no need to complete everything at once. Finish one story, pause, and return when the next memory feels right.
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Invite and agree
Introduce the project without pressure. Make separate choices about participation, recording, tools, book inclusion and the final audience.
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Gather one story
Begin with one specific memory and follow the first place, action, person, object or exchange that becomes concrete enough to form a story.
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Shape and review
Organise approved notes, answers or transcripts into a readable draft without adding unsupported facts, dialogue, motives or meaning.
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Build the book
Place only approved text and images into the A5 Word template, complete the final checks, and export the finished book as a PDF.
What you receive
Everything needed to move from a first question to a finished keepsake.
The kit keeps each step clear: how to begin respectfully, gather the story, shape it without inventing, ask for approval and place the final version into the book.
Begin respectfully
Start with a clear explanation and make the important practical decisions before gathering private material.
- Start Here guide
- Pressure-free invitation
- Recording, privacy and sharing guide
- Storage and access planning
Find four stories worth keeping
Use four broad conversation directions to find specific moments from different parts of a life.
- Roots
- Becoming
- Turning Points
- What Continues
Turn source material into approved stories
Move from notes, written answers or transcripts to a clear story while preserving what the storyteller meant.
- Source mapping
- Manual drafting workflow
- Accuracy checks
- Approval pages
- Optional source-grounded AI prompt
Build the finished keepsake
Use a ready-built A5 structure instead of designing from a blank document. Choose the Photo Book or Text-Only version according to the material the storyteller has approved.
- Photo Book Word template
- Text-Only Word template
- Template Quick Guide
- Twenty-page fictional example
- Final checks and personal-use licence
Both templates are designed for Microsoft Word desktop on Windows or Mac. Google Docs, Canva, LibreOffice and mobile Word are not supported for final template editing. Photographs are optional because the complete Text-Only template is included.
See the result
A small book can still hold something deeply personal.
The first book does not need to explain an entire life. Four carefully chosen and approved stories can already give a child or family member something real to return to.
- Four approved personal stories
- A short storyteller profile
- A designed contents page
- A finished private PDF
The included twenty-page example follows one fictional storyteller through four selected moments. Elin Hartvik and every story in the example are fictional. It is not a customer story or testimonial.
Keep what is true
Make the story easier to read — without changing whose story it is.
Editing can make a spoken or written memory easier to follow. It should not make it more dramatic, more certain or more meaningful than the source supports.
The storyteller reviews the actual edited version and may correct, shorten, remove or decline any part.
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No invented material
No unsupported facts, motives, emotions, dialogue, bridging events or symbolic meaning.
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No forced life lesson
An ordinary memory does not need to become a triumph, redemption story or message to future generations.
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The storyteller reviews the draft
The exact edited version is checked for facts, tone, wording, names and private details before inclusion.
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Each permission remains separate
Talking, recording, using a third-party tool, including a story and sharing the finished book remain separate choices.
Is this the right project?
A private project for a living storyteller — and someone who wants to listen.
A good fit
- You want to create a private keepsake with a parent, grandparent, partner or another adult close to you.
- You want a finished, limited project rather than a complete biography.
- You prefer written guidance and a self-guided process.
- You are willing to gather, draft and assemble the material yourself.
- The storyteller can review and approve each story.
- You can use Microsoft Word desktop on Windows or Mac.
Not the right fit
- You expect a physical printed book to be delivered.
- You want someone else to interview, write, edit or assemble the book for you.
- You need genealogy research or a complete chronological biography.
- You want software to generate missing memories or unsupported material.
- You want to recreate a deceased person’s first-person voice.
- The project is child-led or requires specialist safeguarding support.
One-time purchase
€49before local digital VAT
Digital download
No subscription
Personal-use licence
No physical book is shipped
Payment processed in euros
The complete Life Arc Keepsake kit
- Complete project-start guidance
- Editable decision and planning worksheets
- Pressure-free participation invitation
- Recording, privacy and sharing guidance
- Four guided conversation directions
- Source selection and mapping tools
- Faithful editing and approval workflow
- Optional source-grounded AI prompt
- Photo and Text-Only Word templates
- Template Quick Guide
- Twenty-page fictional example
- Final book checks and personal-use licence
Your country’s digital VAT is calculated during checkout and the exact final total is shown before payment. One purchase may be used for private personal and family keepsake projects within the personal-use licence. Begin each later four-story volume from a fresh copy of the template.
Before you decide
Clear answers to the practical questions.
Do I need to record the conversations?
No. You may work from handwritten notes, typed notes, written answers, audio or video, or an independent recording made by the storyteller. Recording is optional and must be agreed before it begins.
Do I need to use AI?
No. The entire project can be completed manually. An optional source-grounded prompt is included for purchasers who choose to use an agreed third-party AI tool for a narrow editing task.
Do I need photographs?
No. The product includes both a Photo Book template and a complete Text-Only Book template.
Do I need writing or interviewing experience?
No. The conversation guidance helps you begin naturally, and the editing workflow shows how to create a readable draft while remaining faithful to the source material.
Does the book need to cover an entire life?
No. A completed first keepsake contains four selected and approved stories. The four Life Arc directions are guides rather than compulsory categories.
How long does the project take?
There is no fixed schedule. You may complete one story, pause and return later. Conversation, drafting, review and layout remain separate stages.
Can the stories be different lengths?
Yes. The Microsoft Word templates allow story text to continue onto additional pages. Do not add unsupported material merely to fill space or remove meaningful approved material merely to reach a fixed page count.
Can I create another book later?
Yes, within the personal-use licence. Begin another four-story volume from a fresh template copy rather than adding a fifth story section to an existing book.
Can I buy it as a gift?
Yes. You may give one unused product copy to one private recipient. After transferring it, the purchaser should not retain a separate reusable working copy.
Can I use Google Docs, Canva or LibreOffice?
They are not supported for final template editing. The templates rely on Microsoft Word desktop features that other applications may alter, including section breaks, running headers, fields, image placement and page flow.
Can I print the finished book?
Yes. Export the approved book as a PDF and send only the final required file to a suitable printing service. Printing and delivery are not included in the purchase price.
Can this be used for stories about someone who has died?
This edition is designed around stories shared and approved by a living adult participant. It does not provide a process for recreating a deceased person’s voice or inventing first-person memories on their behalf.
Who sees or stores our project material?
No project material is sent to the seller as part of normal product use. Your recordings, notes, photographs, drafts and finished book remain with the people carrying out the project.
What support is included?
Asynchronous written support is available for order and file-access issues. The purchase does not include interviewing, story editing, manuscript review, book assembly, project management, custom design or template repair.
What happens after purchase?
Download the complete ZIP package and open 00_OPEN_FIRST.pdf. It explains the file order, Microsoft Word requirement and recommended first step. The package also contains the guides, editable worksheets, Word templates, fictional example and personal-use licence.
One story is enough to begin
Create something your family can return to.
Ask one question, gather one memory and let the project grow at a pace that feels right. The Life Arc Keepsake gives you a clear way to protect the storyteller’s voice and finish a meaningful first book.
€49 before local VAT · Digital download · No printed book is supplied · Microsoft Word desktop required