Read a finished book
This is what a year of gentle questions becomes. Three sample books — open one and read it the way your family would.
The questions are the real ones we send. Margaret, Derek and Joan are fictional — we wrote their answers to show you the format.
A mum's life story
Margaret, 71
Nine weeks of questions, answered between cups of tea. Childhood, the dance hall, the day her daughter arrived.
“Dad washed that Ford every Sunday of his life, rain or shine. I think he loved it nearly as much as he loved us.”
A dad's working life
Derek, 74
Fifty years in the print trade, one question at a time. Apprenticeships, hard years, and what actually mattered.
“I didn't choose printing. Your great-uncle Ron chose it for me, and it pains me to report he was right.”
A grandmother's childhood
Joan, 84
A childhood of the 1940s, told for the grandchildren. Street games, the village school, and the smell of Monday washday.
“We chalked hopscotch squares on the flagstones and played out till the streetlights came on, which was the only clock we ever needed.”
A little boy, age 4 — as told by his dad
Leo, 4
The little years, written down while they were happening. The sayings, the bedtime negotiations, and a letter for eighteen.
“He calls the hospital the hostibul and we have privately agreed, as a family, that the NHS is wrong about this.”
Their book starts with one question.
One question a week, by email. Free to start.