Why we do it - Keith’s story

Four years ago, my very special mother-in-law, Mary, died after a long illness. It was then that I realised I had never sat down with Mary and listened at length to her life story and I had now missed for ever the opportunity to record it for my wife and her sister, our children and future generations to come.

I did not want to make the same mistake again and so, soon afterwards, I began to use my skills as a writer to compile a short biography of my own mother Cynthia – you can read it here.

It was a wonderful thing to do, I learnt so much about Mum and her life and then I had the wonderful pleasure of presenting it to her on her 80th birthday. She felt so honoured and special that I had taken the time and trouble to do it – it was the best present I have ever given to anyone.

I enjoyed it so much and thought it was such a valuable exercise in preserving my own family history that I repeated the exercise for my father-in-law, Roy, and presented his book to him and all the guests at his 90th birthday dinner. Needless to say it went down a treat.

This is the reason I personally know that it is such a special and valuable thing to do. I would love to help you and your family preserve your own memories and stories for those who are special to you and those future generations who otherwise may never hear them.