Most families already hold more of a person's voice than they realise. It sits on a cassette in a drawer, a voicemail you never deleted, a birthday video on an old phone.
This is how to find it, prepare it and turn it into something the family keeps.
Step 1: Find what exists
- Phones: voicemails, voice notes, birthday and holiday videos.
- Cassettes and minidiscs: answerphone tapes, dictated letters, recorded family occasions.
- Old camcorders and DVDs: home videos with talking in them.
- Cloud and email: videos forwarded years ago.
Do not sort or edit yet. Gather first.
Step 2: Get them into a form you can send
- Phones and cloud: send the files as they are.
- Cassettes and tapes: these need converting to digital audio first. Many local shops and online services do this. Check any service before you post a one-of-a-kind tape.
- Keep the originals. Never post the only copy of anything.
Step 3: Match recordings to life chapters
A life story book works best when a recording answers a question. A birthday video might answer "What were family celebrations like?" A voicemail might say more about their humour than a page of description.
Step 4: Fill the gaps with new answers
Old recordings rarely cover everything. The rest can be spoken or typed, at their own pace. Mixing old and new is normal. If you need ideas, start with 30 questions to ask a parent about their childhood or read how to record family memories.
How Inchapters handles this
- You choose an edition and tell us whose story it is.
- They respond to fourteen chapters of questions over two to four weeks, by speaking, typing, or handing over recordings they already have.
- We shape everything into a narrative. You and they approve every chapter before anything is printed.
- The printed book has a QR code on each page that plays their actual voice.
More detail is in the FAQ.
Questions people ask
Can we use recordings we already have?
Yes. Old voicemails, a birthday video on someone's phone, a cassette tape, a voice note from years ago: send what exists and we build the book around it, alongside anything new they record.
Do I have to convert cassettes myself?
Tapes need to be digital before they can be used. Convert them first, then send the files.
What if the audio quality is poor?
Tell us what you have. Poor audio can still be the most precious part of a book.
Is it all right to use recordings of someone else in the family?
Make sure you have the right to use what you send, and talk to the family first if you are unsure.
Prefer to have the questions asked for you? See how the guided interview works, or choose your edition.