“What smells remind you of home?”
Fresh bread from the bakery down the road
Reply by email
Hit reply on the question email. Write as much or as little as you like — every word is kept safely.
Keep the stories of someone you love.
Tell your family's biographer about someone you love — by talking or typing. We'll help you save their stories, in their own words, and keep them privately, forever.
They just reply to a friendly email — no app, no password.
your family's biographer · here now
Hello — lovely that you’re here. We help families keep the stories of people they love. May I ask your first name?
Talk or type — it's the same gentle conversation. About a minute.
Free to start · No app · Private · £27/yr for full access · or set up step by step
A quiet rhythm
How it works
Three quiet steps. No app to learn, no pressure — just their stories, kept.
Your biographer checks in, at a pace you choose.
One thoughtful question at a time — as often or as gently as feels right. Nothing to download, nothing to sign up for. Just a quiet nudge to share a little of their story.
A quick chat with your biographer, day or night.
Talk it through or type a few lines — whenever the moment comes, not just on a schedule. Like a good biographer, it listens, asks a gentle follow-up, and keeps the heart of the story, in their own words.
Their stories are kept, and become a book.
Every reply is saved, safe, and private to your family. Over time, the answers become something lasting — a portrait in their own voice.
A year of questions
The conversation grows
with them
Questions start gentle and go deeper across the year — each one building on what they've already shared.
Letter for Karen
This week's question
You mentioned that mud pies and roller skates were your thing outside the flatties — who else was on the street with you and Maggie?
Drawn from a letter Karen wrote two weeks ago
Weeks 1–8
Gentle beginnings
“What smells remind you of home?”
Weeks 17–24
Going a little deeper
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
Weeks 41–52
The questions that matter most
“What do you want your grandchildren to know?”
52 questions kept safe — gentle at first, then closer to what matters.
↑ See how it worksWhatever feels natural
They reply their way
No app, no password — OAP-tested.
Listening…2:34
The smell of coal fires — we had one in every room…
Speak to your family's biographer
Call in and talk naturally. Your family's biographer gently guides the conversation and transcribes every word in their voice.
“What games did you play as a child?”
Marbles in the schoolyard — I had a prized blue one
Answer online
Click the link in the email and type in your browser. No app, no account — just a quiet page and a few minutes.
Every reply — however it arrives — is kept in their own words.
Real stories
In their own words
“How did you meet Mum?”
“Your grandmother proposed to me, actually. In the rain outside the cinema. We were both soaked, laughing. I said yes before she finished asking.”
Gently in your hands
Set the rhythm that suits your family. A quiet question arrives when it feels right — and you can pause or adjust anytime, no explanation needed.
- Choose how often questions arrive
- Pick the right time of day
- Pause or rest whenever you like
Delivery Settings
Mum's project
Whose stories matter
Parents. Grandparents. The people whose stories matter most.
Every family has someone who holds the memories. We help you gently collect their stories — one quiet question at a time, kept in their own words.
One account, several storytellers
Collect stories from parents, grandparents, or anyone with a story to share.
23stories kept
23 of 52 questions
18stories kept
18 of 52 questions
12stories kept
12 of 52 questions
Start with one storyteller — free, always. Full access lets you add up to five.
A year from now, a book of their stories. In their words.
Fifty-two gentle questions. Fifty-two replies, saved in their own voice. By the time a year has passed, you'll have something no one can recreate.
Our Family LettersWeek 3
Question
“What games did you play as a child?”
Dad's reply
“We'd play marbles in the schoolyard. I had a prized blue shooter I won from Jimmy next door. Lost it in a big game when I was ten — still remember that day.”
52 stories · kept forever · private to your family
Start by telling your family's biographer about them
Free to try, no card requiredStories kept foreverCancel anytime
Also for parents — keep the little years while they’re happening. Questions about your children, answered by you, kept for them.
The Little YearsFree to use
Questions worth asking
Not ready to start? Take a question pack instead. Each one is free, complete on the page, and printable — bring it to Sunday lunch.
53 questions to ask your mum about her childhood
Fifty-three questions that open real stories — with British memory anchors by decade, help for "nothing interesting ever happened to me", and a printable kit.
Read it54 questions to ask your dad about his life
Fifty-four questions that work on dads who deflect — start with the car, the job and the terraces, and the rest follows. With a printable kit.
Read itQuestions to ask your grandparents about their childhood — by generation
Real questions by generation — wartime childhoods and 1950s–60s ones — plus a short set children can use for school, and help with oft-repeated stories.
Read itHow to help an elderly parent talk about the past — gently
Why parents go quiet — trauma, grief, "nobody wants to hear it" — and what helps: permission scripts, sideways moments, and knowing when to stop.
Read it
Collect stories you'd never otherwise know to ask about.
A year of gentle questions, kept forever, in their own words. Reply by email — or talk it through with your family's biographer.
One plan. Your parents' stories, or your children's — or both. You can also give a year as a gift.
Free
Begin with one person
£0
Free forever
- 1 storyteller
- One question a week
- Stories kept forever
Most chosen
Full access
Everything, for the whole family
£27
a year · cancel anytime
- Up to 5 storytellers
- Unlimited questions
- Stories kept forever
- 1000s of thoughtful questions
- Question ideas tailored to them
- Talk to your family's biographer
- Revisit memories anytime
All plans include full archive access, export anytime, and email delivery.
One simple plan
£27 a year. Cancel anytime, no questions asked.
Storytellers stay in control
They can pause, change frequency, or stop anytime.
14-day money-back
Not what you expected? Full refund, no questions.
Private by default. Stories are never shared, sold, or used to train models.
Questions? joe@ourfamilyletters.com
Questions you might have
We've tried to anticipate what you're wondering.
No. They reply to email. That's it. No downloads, no accounts, no passwords to remember. If they can send an email, they can use Our Family Letters.
If they can reply to an email, they can do this. There's no app to download, no account to create, no password to remember. The question arrives in their inbox, they type a reply, and hit send. That's it.
No pressure. The next question comes when it's time. We never send guilt-tripping follow-ups or "we noticed you haven't replied" messages. Everyone moves at their own pace.
Yes. Starting is free — one storyteller, one question a week, no card required. Full access is £27 a year: up to five storytellers, unlimited questions, and voice replies. Cancel anytime, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Yes, anytime. Weekly, fortnightly, or pick your own pace. You can adjust the schedule whenever you like—speed up, slow down, or pause completely.
Yes. Only you can see the archive. We don't share data with third parties, and your stories are never used to train AI models. Your data is stored securely in the UK. Delete anytime—gone is gone.
Right now, only you (the person who started the project) can see the archive. We're building the ability to share with other family members soon.
Your archive is yours forever. We will never delete it. Every story they shared is preserved exactly as they wrote it, and you can export everything anytime. This is one of the main reasons people use Our Family Letters—to capture these stories while there's still time.
We have a library of hundreds of thoughtful questions. We start with gentle warm-ups and gradually go deeper over time. You can skip any question that doesn't feel right, and we'll send the next one. When they answer by voice or online, their family's biographer can ask a natural follow-up—"what did she say next?"—to draw out the whole scene.
It's the gentle way to answer out loud or online. Their family's biographer asks the week's question, listens, and asks the odd thoughtful follow-up—then keeps every word in their own voice. It never writes the story for them; it just helps draw it out. Prefer to keep things simple? Replying to the email always works.
Your archive is yours forever, even if you don't renew. If you want another year of questions, you can renew. If not, your memories stay safe and accessible—we'll never hold them hostage.