We’ve all heard, “Oh, it runs in the family” or “I get that from my grandma ''when remarking on our characteristics and traits. For me, it is my grandma’s ability to tell a good story, and my mom's desire to work hard. The stories we know about those who came before us also belong to those who come after.

As grandparents, it is part of our duty to pass down these stories. Helping our grandchildren know their history helps them know themselves and helps the history live on. Investing time and energy into capturing your memories of your ancestors (and also capturing your own memories to be shared) can have a lasting impact on a family. Research shows that children who know more about “where and who they came from” are more likely to demonstrate traits of resilience and adaptability.

Capturing our own memories helps our children and grandchildren know us better, but we also take for granted how many stories we know about our ancestors that are just living in our memories. ​

Here are some reasons it’s important to preserve memories of those around us:

• Would you like to hear the story of your great-grandparents? Chances are your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will want the same thing.

• Did any of your ancestors live through an important part of history, suffer at some point but come through it, or make an important contribution to their community? Documenting the big and little parts of their lives ensures those tales can be re-told.

• Did your family have traditions that were unique to your family? Chances are you or your children would like to continue them.

• Do you have a big milestone coming up in your family, such as a new baby? Saving the family story before that baby is born will be a powerful memento for him or her when they are grown.

• Have you tried to make a recipe and it doesn’t taste the same when someone else makes it? Capture that person making it and perhaps you will get close to the same taste.​

What Could You Collect to Save Life Stories?
Many details can be collected to preserve the full story of your loved one. Their date of birth, where they grew up and lived, their family tree if possible, and more details are all important contexts to the life story of a person.

Your loved one will have other ideas of important items to collect. You may want to add your mother’s famous bread recipe, for instance, or your father’s secret to grilling the best ribs. Ask for photos to add to the collection. You can also get voice clips or videos to augment the story. Grandpa can sing a song from childhood or grandma can play her favourite tune on the piano. And don’t forget to ask what the person feels is most important to remember about them.
​
The details that make your loved ones special are part of their life story, and those details will keep their memory alive.

How Can You Save These Stories?
By now you’re probably wondering what is the best way to save those life stories? An easy-to-use digital platform like memoryKPR is one way to preserve a multitude of memories in a variety of formats.

This digital tool makes it easy to put together a memory book for your family, and add to it over time. Tell the story in their words with videos or voice clips, photographs, and written words. Take a photo of mom’s recipe and easily add it to the digital format known as a story “book”.

It’s simple to use on a computer or a mobile device with the app that’s available on the App Store or Google Play. Use it to upload all kinds of files, with support for formats like JPEG, PNG, MP4, MP3, WAV, and more.

It’s easy to record audio right into the story or upload from your library. You can even draw a family tree and upload it. If you choose, you can import directly from social media like Facebook and Instagram. You can invite others to contribute via email or with a QR code.

You have the option to share on social media if you want, and there are choices for privacy that you control. You also decide who contributes to the story, and who has access to it when you want to share it. It’s easy for everyone to navigate, as you can send an email link to let guests view it on their own.
​

One Family’s Experience

My own family recently embarked on an initiative to capture some of these stories. We are a group of first, second and third cousins and all our parents are gone. We got to hear stories cousins had heard from their parents about our own parents. I have one sister who owns a garden center and hosts a Christmas Market every year that sells Christmas trees. It was through a third cousin we found out that our own father had sold Christmas trees as a side business when he was a teenager. She even had the antique advertisement he used, which now hangs in my sister's business.

Finding small pearls of memories like this made it feel like we were getting to know our dad all over again. I cannot tell you what a gift that was! It is for reasons like this that I know the importance of protecting and passing on memories. We used memoryKPR to gather all this information and it not only helped us share and connect easily, but it also brought us all closer. Seeing the pictures that we shared, some that were new to us, and learning more about our ancestors connected us all in a meaningful way. 

We especially enjoyed recording the voices of the stories to go along with pictures. It brought many stories to life, but also created a beautiful archive for the next generation to hear, see and feel our stories. It was as easy as sending a link to the whole family and then enjoying all the contributions. We had one cousin who is in her 80’s, she was the one who had the easiest time recognizing family members and she quickly became a memoryKPR pro adding names and details about the pictures the rest of us uploaded. We learned so much and are so much more connected than we ever were.

When we’re young, we may take the adults around us for granted, assuming they will be around forever. As time passes, the opportunity to learn from them can be quickly lost. However, their memories and stories can be preserved forever in only a few easy steps.
​
Want to see how MemoryKPR can help your family preserve its most important stories? Use code GRAND for 50% off the Pro Annual subscription and start to preserve your memories today!

This post contains links to products I have personally chosen to share. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Thank you for helping to support this site.
​

​Jessica McNaughton is Founder and CEO of memoryKPR technology Inc, a digital solution for compiling, gathering, protecting and designing some one’s story.  Jessica was born and raised in Saskatchewan but did leave for almost 20 year, in her time away she worked abroad, then settling in Banff and Calgary. Jessica worked for some of Canada’s most respected corporations such as WestJet, RBC, and Shell. She was recognised as a Calgary top 40 under 40, in fact it was a top 40 event where Brad Wall encouraged her to give Sk another chance, and it worked. Jessica most recently help an executive position in s Chartered Bank, before shifting gears and focusing on her start-up and Culture and Coaching Business. She holds an EMBA from the Levene school of Business. She has two children and resides in Moose Jaw, Sk. She loves the mountains, travel, yoga and spending time with loved ones.