Give Mom or Dad the Gift of Telling Their Own Story
Someday you’ll wish you had their stories in their own words. The best time to capture them is now, and the most meaningful gift you can give them is the chance to preserve their legacy. Backstory makes that easy, with a personalized, one-to-one experience guided by a skilled and compassionate interviewer.
Choose from three options, from simplest to most complete, and start wherever it feels right.
Oral History
Their words, exactly as they said them. Hear it in their voice.
Guided interviews with a personal historian on topics we explore during a family intake session. You receive a transcript lightly edited for readability and organized into chapters, plus the audio, so your family can both read their words and hear them say them.
• How it works: Intake session → four one-hour interviews → one review/revision session
• You receive: Up to 40-page Word document, PDF, and audio recordings
• Typical timeline: 6-8 weeks
BEST FOR:
✓ A parent who might be hesitant about a whole book project
BENEFITS:
✓ Family involvement is minimal: you don’t need to be involved reviewing a book or looking for photos.
✓ The process takes about 6-8 weeks, which is a quicker project than a book
✓ A great place to start. You fee is credited toward a Life Story Book or Legacy Book within 12 months if your parent wants to continue.
Starting at $1,800
Additional interviews and video available:
See Add ons
TIMELINE: 6-8 weeks
Life Story Book
Their stories, written as a book.
We take your parent’s interviews and write them into a chapter book that contains their life stories and history.
• How it works: Intake session → five one-hour interviews → two review sessions to go through the draft together
• You receive: 6 x 9 hardcover book up to 40 pages with a color cover photo and a back-page photo collage, and audio recordings
• What is the difference between this book and an Oral History? An oral history is your parents words, transcribed and edited, with no photos. The Life Story book is written by Backstory as a narrative, and includes photos.
• What is the difference between this book and a Legacy Book? The Legacy Book has more pages and interviews, and has up to 40 photos throughout. This book has a cover photo and a photo collage at the back, and the rest is your parent’s stories in chapters .
• Typical timeline: 2-3 months
BEST FOR:
✓A parent and family who wants their history captured, but the family doesn’t have the time to look for photos
BENEFITS:
✓ The process takes about 2 months, which is a quicker project than a Legacy book
✓ A great middle ground. You’ll have a wonderful story book, and your fee is credited toward a full Legacy Book within 12 months if you decide you want to add more interviews, and add photos throughout the book that correlate with the stories.
Starting at $2,500
Additional interviews, pages, photos, and video available:
See Add ons
TIMELINE: 4 weeks
Legacy Book
Their definitive life story, written and designed as an heirloom. A legacy, beautifully told.
Organized thematically or chronologically, this book weaves your family’s history and photos into a keepsake to pass down.
• How it works: Intake session → six one-hour interviews → one photo selection session → two review sessions
• You receive: 6 x 9 hardcover book of up to 60 pages and up to 40 photos woven throughout, PDF, and audio recordings
• What is the difference between this book and the Life Story Book? It has everything in the Life Story Book, plus a fifth interview to go deeper, up to 40 photos woven through the story and chosen together with you, and custom design by a professional book designer.
• Typical Timeline: Three to four months
BEST FOR:
✓ A parent who has been meaning to write a book, or has started but not finished it, and feels overwhelmed
✓ A parent that received an online or digital gift to tell their story, but never followed through because it was too impersonal
BENEFITS:
✓ It’s the complete book, allowing you parent to let go of photos, files, and stories.
✓ It’s easy to add on a video
✓ Includes book layout, professional design, and photo scanning
Starting at $3,200
Additional photos and interviews available for an added cost.
TIMELINE: 8 weeks
What’s the difference?
