Personal Memoirs

Your life story recorded in your own voice

 

 

Your Memoir recorded for posterity for family, friends and the wider public. 

Everyone has a fascinating story to tell - not only famous people but ordinary folk with wonderful and touching memories of very real lives lived.

 

Recording your Memoir - how it works

 

I can record your Memoir at my fully-professional studio in my lovely old house in Cirencester, or I can come to you and we can record in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of your own home. 

I have a small, discrete and fully-mobile recording setup consisting of two great microphones and a laptop, which fits inside a a small case.

 

I offer a sensitive, sympathetic and skilful interview if preferred, or you can simply tell your story with useful prompts like photographs, diaries, letters and home video. 

You can add a family member or a friend if it helps.

I can edit out any stumbles, pauses or repetitions or simply keep it real, conversational and relaxed.

 

 

Approaching your Memoir 

 

Your Memoir can be long or short, chronological or episodic. 

 

Chronological:

Begin at the beginning and take us through to the present - this classic approach works very well indeed.

 

For example, Fiona Jackson took us vividly from birth in 1940 through her eventful early years, her career as a nurse and midwife right up to the present and her very sociable life as an 85 year-old Cirencester resident:

 

https://soundcloud.com/recordingmemories/sets/fionajackson

 

 

 

Subject Based: 

You can follow a subject-related form with a focus on what is important to you, whether that be family, career, sport, the passions in your life or any combination of these. 

 

For example, I recently completed a memoir with Ralph who told his life story through his great love of fly-fishing. How his passion for the sport shaped his travels and how teaching his five beloved grandchildren to fly-fish defined and deepened his relationship with them.

 

Here are some ideas of possible themes on which to base a Memoir:

 

• 'My Career’ - your story told from the perspective of a working life

​

• 'My Family’ - a memoir told through the evolutions of family 

​

• 'My Sporting Life’ - how a passion defined you and enriched your lifetime

​

• 'The Love of My Life' - a relationship that defined you

​

• 'Music and Me' - your relationship with your favourite music

​

• 'My Travels' - your tales of exploration and self-discovery

​

• 'Best Friends' - the story of an important and enduring friendship, consisting of contributions from you both

​

• 'Parent and Child' - the story of close bonds and shared roots

​

• ‘Dear Grandchild….’ Pass on your lifetime’s experience to your grandchildren: family stories and perhaps some advice

​

 

And of course your Memoir may contain ALL of the above!

 

 

Soundscaping a Memoir

 

As an optional extra I can add other layers of sound to your Memoir - favourite music, poetry, literary extracts, letters, messages of love in the familiar voices of close family or good friends. 

I can add location recordings capturing the ambience of your home or of your favourite places, all captured in broadcast-quality sound, professionally recorded and edited to bring your story to life.

The link between sound and memory is strong and this is a powerful way to evoke warm memories of your past - for your children, your grandchildren and, not least, for yourself.

 

 

PRICING

Pricing is modular, simple and flexible.

Talk to me and we can devise a plan to fit any budget.

 

Free Consultation

Telling your story is a very personal experience and I find that the better I can get to know you the better and more relaxed the result. 

So I offer a free consultation to help you decide if you want to record a Memoir and to discuss the best way to do it FOR YOU. My approach is entirely flexible and I can work out a plan to fit most budgets.