You're handing us something irreplaceable.
Why this exists, and what happens to everything you send us.
The asking is the hard part.
Most families mean to record a grandparent and never do — nobody knows quite what to ask, or what to do with an afternoon of talking afterwards. That is the whole reason this exists: we ask the questions, and we turn the answers into something your family keeps.
Who this is for.
Their own words, not a summary.
For a parent who wants the grandkids to hear a grandparent tell it, not hear about it later.
One voice already missing.
For a family that doesn't want to lose another before it's written down.
A gift with a person in it.
For anyone tired of giving another mug, another calendar, another gift card.
That thought you keep having.
For anyone who's said "I should really get him talking about that" more than once.
What we do with what you send.
Private is the default at every step — you never have to ask for it.
- The photographs
- You upload them, and we use them for one thing: making the keepsake you ordered. They go into your story, your book, or your film, and nowhere else. We don't sell them or hand them to anyone.
- The recording
- While the story is being written, the only people who hear it are the interviewer and the producer working on it. The raw audio is yours if you ask. We delete our copy 90 days after we deliver — sooner if you'd rather.
- The finished story
- It lives at a private address nobody could guess. Search engines are told to ignore it and it isn't listed on our site, so only the people you send the link to can read it. It appears in our samples only with your written permission, which we ask for at intake, before any recording happens.
- The payment
- Handled by Stripe. Your card details go to them, not to us, and we don't store them.
What you can expect.
What comes back. A private page you can send to the whole family. Depending on the package, a hardcover book or a short film as well.
When. 5–7 days on the single-interview package and 14–21 days on the longer ones, counted from the last interview. Working ranges, not promises to the day.
What we don't decide. Nothing said in an interview goes into the story automatically. You read the draft before anyone else, and a round of changes — two on the longer packages — is yours within 14 days.
Ask us anything first.
If you're not sure an interview would work for your grandparent, email us at thechapterarchives@gmail.com and we'll think it through with you before you buy anything.
See the packages