Design concept, not the live site

Capture & KeepLife stories, written by Amanda

The Life Story

A whole life, in their own voice.

Amanda conducts every conversation herself, from the first call through to the finished book. Nothing is rushed, and nothing is handed off to anyone else along the way.

A life within living memory, told in conversation by the person who lived it. Not family-tree research.

Every story is finalised by Amanda.

The Life Story From £250

The exact price depends on the number of sessions, which you and Amanda agree together on a call.

You see a full draft before anything is printed. Nothing can be bought on this website: everything starts with a message to Amanda.

Message Amanda on WhatsApp Or talk to Amanda another way
What it can start from

Bring the box. Or bring nothing at all.

She also works from what a family already has: recordings sitting on a phone, a box of photographs, letters, a journal somebody started and stopped. Tell her roughly what there is and she will say honestly what could be made from it.

  • Recordings

    Sitting on a phone, or on an old tape

  • Photographs

    A box of them, names on the back or not

  • Letters

    Kept in a drawer, tied or loose

  • A journal

    One somebody started and stopped

  • Nothing ready

    Nothing has to be ready in advance. The conversations are enough.

The objects are drawn for this page, not anybody's belongings. Open the tin on the homepage to see what each one can become.

How it works

Three things come out of the box.

There is no interview to prepare for. Amanda handles the whole process, gently, from the first phone call to the moment it's yours to keep.

  1. First out01

    We talk

    Amanda spends time with you over a series of relaxed, recorded conversations, at their pace and in their own chair. Nothing has to be ready in advance, and the things that come back a week later go in too.

    Recorded by Amanda herself

  2. Then02

    Amanda writes

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

    You see a full draft first

  3. Last out03

    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.

    The shape is agreed on the first call

See how it works, in full

Before you commit

What is fixed, and what you decide together.

The Life Story is deliberately not a package. A few things never change, and they are printed inside the lid. Everything else is worked out with you on the call.

Inside the lid. Always, whatever you choose

Fixed

  • Amanda records every conversation herself and writes every story herself.
  • You see a full draft before anything is printed.
  • The Life Story starts at £250, and the exact price depends on how many conversations the story needs.
  • Extra printed copies are from £95 each.
  • Nothing can be bought on this website. Everything starts with a message to Amanda.

Agreed with Amanda on the first call

Yours to decide

  • How many conversations there are, and over what period.
  • Whether you want a hardback, a digital copy, the recordings, or some combination.
  • How many printed copies are included.
  • Whether the edited recordings are part of the project or added at the end.
  • If it is a gift, what the voucher is worth and what the person opens on the day.

What it reads like

The writing is the part nobody can show you in a photograph.

So here is a piece of it.

I started on the factory floor at sixteen, sweeping metal shavings for four pounds a week, and thirty-eight years later they gave me a clock and a cup of tea in the same building. In between there was a wife, three children, a strike I still have opinions about, and more good men than bad ones. Nobody had ever asked me to say any of that out loud before, let alone write it down.

From a sample passage, written to show the style. Not a real client. Read all three passages

Pricing

From £250, and the rest is agreed on a call.

There is no rigid session-count table, because no two families need exactly the same amount of conversation. See full pricing

  • The Life StoryFrom £250Depends on the number of sessions. Message Amanda

  • Extra copiesFrom £95 eachWhenever the family wants them.

  • As a giftArranged with AmandaNo fixed voucher price. About gift vouchers

  • The Memory Kit Coming soon£30Want to try it yourself first, at a lower cost? Not on sale yet. See The Memory Kit

Before you decide

The lid goes back on. The story stays inside.

Start a conversation

Let's keep their story, together.

Tell Amanda a little about who the story is for. There is no obligation, no pressure, and no salesperson at the end of it. Only her.

Start a conversationTalk to Amanda