We tried really hard with the largest memoir recording company out there—I won’t name names—but we just didn’t have success. My parents-in-law managed it, as they’re a bit younger than my mum, but I was really disappointed with how hard it was to get the book into the world. 18 long months of editing and drama.
My background is in variable data printing and web development, so I had a good handle on how easy this should be. But I was frustrated by how difficult it was made. With my mum, two years in, we still didn’t have the book half done. What should have been magical became a chore, and that seemed like such a shame.
The barrier was technology. One day I sat down with mum, opened my phone, and used a transcription app to capture her stories. What a difference it made. She really opened up. A story that was maybe 100 words when she typed it suddenly became rich and detailed when she spoke.
When my sister or I tried typing for her, she got frustrated because it wasn’t her voice. Transcription solved that. The difference between mum talking into her phone and trying to type was huge. Some of us are natural writers, some of us aren’t—and mum fell into the latter category.
But when we started asking questions, the whole family lit up. We learned things about mum we never knew, like how she nearly ended up in an orphanage. These conversations were powerful—but many of them never made it into the book. That’s when it hit me: with twelve grandkids, her stories couldn’t stay trapped in our heads.
We decided we needed to put an end to that, and to build something that was much easier to use. Below is how it works and why it's built that way.
First up, you choose your plan:
Memory Stream for One – for a single author.
Memory Stream for Two – for two authors.
Answer some questions
Answer the questions
Finish answering the questions – add some photos – order the book.
Easy.
First up, you choose your plan:
MemoryStream for One – for a single author.
MemoryStream for Two – for two authors.
The reason is simple: it allows us to clearly separate who gave each answer. Other systems tried to work around this, but it became a messy editing job later. This way, each person has their own login and can answer questions in their own time.
We’ve actually seen it become a bit competitive—husbands and wives racing through to finish their sections first. It keeps the momentum going.
If it’s a single-author story, we’ll ask some setup questions to give direction and shape:
Basic details – year of birth, for timeline context. For example, someone born in the ’80s grew up with the technology boom, while someone born in the ’40s saw it from a distance.
Career – for some, career is a central part of their identity; for others, not so much. The questions adapt accordingly.
Interests – a note section lets you add details like hobbies, passions, or quirks (e.g. sci-fi fan, avid traveller, bird spotter). These guide many of the early questions.
This tailoring makes the questions more personal and relevant. We do leave the personalised question open to that we get the best out of every story.
The interface is designed to be simple and senior-friendly—as my father-in-law put it, “boomer approved.” We’ve stripped away unnecessary buttons and distractions.
When answering, we guide you step by step:
Pause and reflect – think about your answer and maybe jot down bullet points.
Record your response – just hit the big button and talk.
Automatic transcription – your words are converted to text.
We’ve tested transcription services and use the one that handles Aussie and Kiwi accents best. It’s not always perfect, so we run a clean-up that inserts grammar, paragraph breaks, and makes it look like book-ready text. The end result is fantastic and removes a lot of the barriers to story creation.
We also keep the original recording. A QR code in the book links to an audio player so the voice, tone, and inflection aren’t lost.
Editing is simple—just like editing a Word document. Correct a name, tweak a sentence, and you’re done. Most of the time you won’t need to, but if you have to, it’s easy.
Every question answered becomes a chapter. But here’s where it really comes alive: smart follow-up questions. Just like in real conversations, one answer leads to another question. This pulls out the stories that might otherwise be missed.
This is where the storytelling really comes alive. After your first answer is transcribed, the system generates smart follow-up questions—just like in a real conversation.
If you mention a person or place, it could ask who more about that place/person. If you mention a detail but gloss over it, the question might be directed at that.
You choose whether to add it as its own question, or skip it if you feel the story is complete.
Example. Mum’s question was “What’s been the most beautiful place you have ever been too”. Now her answer was Hawaii, and she gave a detailed account of why. But she also mentioned Turkey was a close second, but never said why in the original answer.
In this case the follow up question was “What made Turkey such a close second, and what was it that attracted you to this place”.
These follow-ups draw out details, emotions, and context you might not think to share on your own. They’re often where the hidden gems come from—the parts of the story no one knew to ask about.
Once you’ve finished answering questions—and any follow-ups—you move into the publishing stage. This is where everything you’ve recorded and transcribed is shaped into a book.
If you have been using the clean-up tool at the end up stage then this will be easy. The clean-up tool inserts grammar, paragraph breaks, and adjusts the flow so that it reads more like a book than a raw transcript. It doesn’t overwrite your voice or change the meaning—it simply makes the text readable.
From here, you (or a family member) can make small corrections, like fixing a place name or adding a missing detail. Editing works just like a Word document on your computer or phone, so it’s familiar and straightforward.
We don’t just stop at the written story. The original voice recordings are kept and linked directly into the book via QR codes. That means a grandchild can open the book, scan the code, and hear the actual voice telling the story. Tone, emotion, and inflection come through in a way that text alone can’t capture.
Each question you’ve answered becomes a chapter. With follow-up questions adding depth, these chapters build naturally into a chronological flow, depending on how you’ve chosen to answer. Over time, what starts as a series of short recordings becomes a fully fleshed-out memoir.
When you’re ready, the system assembles all of this into a printable book format. Stories are structured into chapters, headings, and sections, with photographs. The layout is designed to be clean, professional, and easy to read for all ages.
The end result is more than just a book—it’s a multimedia legacy. Family members can sit down with a physical copy, read the stories, and then scan QR codes to actually hear them in your voice. Instead of memories being scattered across conversations, phone calls, or forgotten moments, they’re captured, preserved, and passed down in a way that feels alive.
Alongside the printed book, we generate a professional PDF edition:
Perfect for sharing with family members around the world instantly.
Easy to email or store in family cloud archives.
Includes the same formatting as the printed version, plus functional QR codes that play the voice recordings.
(PDF Download becomes available after the 30 day trial).