How it works
Nobody writes a book. Everybody answers a question.
Six steps between signing up and holding the hardback. Here is all of it, start to finish.
- 1
You choose what gets asked
Pick the parts of their life worth keeping — childhood, work, family, the years that were hard. Their fifty questions are drawn from what you choose, so nobody is asked about a career they never had.
- 2
One question arrives each week
By email or text, whichever suits them. One at a time, never a form to work through, and there is no deadline on any of it.
- 3
They answer however is easiest
Typed, spoken into a phone, or told to you over Sunday lunch. Spoken answers are transcribed word for word, which is how most people who say they cannot write end up with a book.
- 4
Photographs go in beside the stories
Upload pictures as you go and tell us which memory each one belongs to. They are printed next to the story they illustrate, not collected in a glossy section in the middle.
- 5
Our editors take it from there
Real people read every answer and fix the spelling, punctuation and flow. Nobody rewrites you. If you say a thing a particular way, it stays that way on the page.
- 6
The hardback arrives at their door
Sewn binding, their name on the cover, up to 500 pages. Shipping is free to the UK, the US and the EU, and extra copies can be ordered for the rest of the family.
The gift they would never buy themselves
The months of being asked are half of it. The hardback on the shelf afterwards is the other half.
Give it as a gift“My son gave me LifePages as a present and I wasn’t sure at first, but I’m so glad he did. The questions brought back memories I hadn’t thought about in decades.”
It does not have to be one person’s job
Most of these books are made by a family rather than a writer. Everyone can put something in.
Choose the questions between you
Any family member can suggest what gets asked. The questions nobody has dared ask directly are often the ones worth adding.
Anyone can add photographs
Pictures live in different houses. Siblings and grandchildren can upload theirs without the writer having to collect everything first.
Read the answers as they arrive
Each answer can be shared with the family the week it is written, so the book is being read for months before it is printed.
Order a copy each at the end
One hardback is included. Extra copies for brothers, sisters and grandchildren can be ordered once the book is finished.
You already know the answers
Read one and see how fast it comes back. Fifty of them come with every plan, shaped by the chapters you choose.
Who was your closest friend at school, and what became of them?
What did the kitchen smell like on an ordinary weekday morning?
When was the first time you felt like an adult?
What tradition did your family keep that nobody outside it understood?
Where did you go the first time you travelled somewhere alone?
What did you spend your first proper wages on?
Who taught you something you still use every day?
What were you certain of at twenty that you no longer believe?
100K+ books printed and shipped
Free shipping to the UK, US and EU
Free shipping
Your hardback ships to the UK, the US and anywhere in the EU at no extra cost.
Archival printing
Sewn binding and heavy stock, built to survive being handed down.
Your story stays yours
You keep the copyright. We never sell or publish a word of it.
Frequently asked questions
I have never written anything. Is that a problem?
No. Most of our members have never written more than a birthday card. You answer plain questions in the words you would use out loud, and our editors handle spelling, punctuation and flow without changing how you sound.
What if I would rather talk than type?
Speak your answers into your phone or computer and we transcribe them word for word. Plenty of members do the whole book this way, often with a son or daughter sitting alongside.
How much time does this actually take?
Ten to twenty minutes per question, and you choose how many you do a week. The three-month plan runs about four a week; the twelve-month plan is closer to one. You can always go faster and finish early.
What will the finished book look like?
A sewn hardback with your name and title on a cover color you choose, up to 500 pages, and up to 100 of your photographs printed beside the stories they go with.
What do I get with a LifePages plan?
All 50 guided questions, editing of everything you write, full page layout with your photographs, and one printed hardback mailed to you. Shipping to the UK, the US and the EU is free.
Can I buy LifePages for my mom or dad?
This is how a lot of our books start. Buy the plan, hand over the login, and they answer at their own pace. Many families sit down and work through the questions together over the phone.
Begin anywhere. We ask the rest.
Tell us a little about your life and we will show you what your book could hold, before you decide anything.
Start my book for $57