How I Turned Grandparent Interviews Into a Book (and How You Can Too)
If you’ve ever thought I should ask my grandparents more about their life but didn’t know where to start—this episode is for you. I’m sharing the simple system I used to capture meaningful stories, stay connected through weekly touchpoints, and turn it all into a keepsake book. You’ll also hear a short bonus clip from my Nana and Papa at the end.
What you’ll learn in this episode
Two simple ways to start: weekly touchpoints or a 4-session story build
The life “chapters” to cover (so you’re not staring at a blank page)
How I collected photos + added context when we didn’t have an image
How I created a shareable book family members could order
Tools you can use if you want something more automated (StoryWorth / Remento)
Download + Waitlist
Download the free Grandparent Interview Kit
Includes: full question bank, weekly touchpoint plan, 4-session plan, and starter scripts.
Join the Grandparent Book Template Waitlist
Be first to know when the plug-and-print storybook template is ready.
Your simple next step
Download the Grandparent Interview Kit, then choose one person, choose one track, choose one chapter, and schedule the first conversation. One story at a time turns into a real archive faster than you think.
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If you've ever thought I should ask my grandparents more about their life but didn't know where to start, this episode is for you. I'm sharing a simple system I used to capture meaningful stories, stay connected through weekly touchpoints, and eventually turn it all into a keepsake book.
Welcome + why this matters
Welcome to Postcards for Posterity. Make the memories. Keep the story. I'm Maddie, and this show is for moms and anyone who takes the pictures and holds the stories in their families. But doesn't wanna miss their life while trying to document it. Today we're talking about something that can feel really meaningful and also really overwhelming: capturing your grandparents or your parents' stories.
I think a lot of us have this vague memory of school projects where we made a family tree or answered some prompts about our relatives, and honestly, I have no idea what happened to any of those projects I don't know if they were kept, I don't know where they went.
I think that's part of why I wanted to do this differently, more intentionally and in a way that actually lasts. I'm going to share two simple ways to do this. Weekly touch points if you want consistent connection or a four session story build if you want a more focused, let's finish this approach.
How this started
In early 2020, right before the pandemic, my husband and I were living in Utah, and I felt this strong nudge to start a project with our grandparents. My goal was simple. I wanted to connect more consistently with them, learn their stories in a more intentional way, and create something tangible, a book that our family could keep.
So I came up with a bank of 52 questions and I thought I'd ask one per week, but here's what I learned immediately. There is no one right way to do this. Some people love emails, some don't use email at all. Some prefer phone calls and some want in person conversations. The best plan is the one that works for your person. Having 52 questions didn't mean 52 perfect weeks. Some weeks we skipped, some calls went deeper on one story, and sometimes we asked more than one question.
What we tried (email, phone, and in-person)
When we started, some of our grandparents were comfortable with email, so we sent the question and they replied when they could. Some weren't consistent on email, and that was okay. So sometimes the weekly question became a quick phone call and some grandparents preferred phone calls from the beginning.
For example, my grandma grew up in Italy and never learned to read or write English, so an email based system wouldn't have worked for her anyway. For her, it was phone calls or in person. And this is why I'm saying don't let the method stop you. Pick what works and adapt when you need to.
Two ways to do it (weekly touchpoints + 4-session build)
Here are the two ways I recommend you approach this based on whatever season you're in. One method is weekly touch points. This is for connection. 10 to 20 minutes. Once a week or every other week, and you ask one anchor question.
Another method is the four session story build. This is for people who want a keepsake faster for longer conversations. About 45 to 60 minutes each with a theme. And here's my rule for both. One anchor question and then use your curiosity to lead the conversation. That's what creates depth, not trying to get through a long list.
Your “life chapters” roadmap
The goal is connection and preservation. And if you need a roadmap, you can think in chapters. I used childhood, school, work, family, love, children and grandchildren, travel, world events, reflections, and then legacy details if you want.
How you turned it into a book
As we gathered answers, I started building the book. I collected photos from our grandparents that matched the stories, and when we didn't have a photo, like a high school or a type of car, I sometimes did a little research to find an image that added context. A lot of yearbooks, especially older yearbooks, are now digitized and online then I added captions and designed the pages.
Blurb workflow + family ordering
I used Blurb, which I've used for years. What I love is I could upload the finished file and create a private link so family members could order their own copies if they wanted. Blurb has a way of having a virtual bookstore that you can leverage. Before we printed anything final, I sent PDFs to our grandparents to review and confirm accuracy.
Why timing mattered
One of the most meaningful parts of this project was the timing.
My husband's grandma, who we called Grams, reviewed her book and questions, wrote notes and corrections for us, and then we got it printed. Not long after she unexpectedly passed away, and I can't tell you how grateful I am that we captured her stories and got her feedback while we still could.
I even have voice recordings of her answering some of the questions. So it's not just words on a page, it's her voice That's truly the heart of this. You just never know what timing will be, and that isn't meant to be scary. Just a gentle nudge, not to wait for the perfect time. When I gave the books to my dad's parents, my Nana and Papa, they got teary-eyed, and I'm so glad that we did it when we did because my Nana has dementia now and she wouldn't be able to remember many of these stories today.
I've also lost my grandma in the last few years. And dementia was part of that story too. Even when someone's memory changes, there's still meaning in capturing what you can, especially earlier memories.
If you can’t interview them directly
Another option for those that have passed on or have dementia or other things that prevent them from sharing their stories is asking other people in their lives, their friends or family members, stories about them.
Alternatives (StoryWorth + Remento + backups)
If you want a lower time investment option that still ends in a book, StoryWorth can be a great fit, especially for someone who's comfortable writing or emailing. They send prompts. Your family member replies and it compiles into a book at the end. You can also go in and input answers for your relative or edit them later.
There's another program called Remento, which I haven't personally used, but I'm intrigued by the idea that it captures someone's voice or video, and the printed book includes QR codes that link back to those recordings. One quick note with anything that lives in the cloud, I always recommend downloading backups, so you're not relying on any one platform long term. Remento says you can download recordings and even request a backup of your content.
Parents + perspective shifts over time
For me I wanted more control over layout, structure and photos, which is why I built mine the way I did. But StoryWorth was actually a great fit for my parents because they use email and I love the idea of asking similar questions again as they get older, because perspective shifts. The same story can be told differently 10 years later, and I think that's fascinating.
One funny, practical note, when my dad wrote his answers, he used a lot of ellipses and run on sentences, so I did go back and edit punctuation, to make it read better in book form, but honestly, another advantage of recording conversations is that you capture their voice, their phrasing, their humor, and how they tell their story.
Simple next step + free kit
If this episode is the nudge you needed, here's your next step. Choose one person. Choose one track. Choose one chapter and schedule the first conversation. If you wanna do this, I made a free kit that includes the full question bank, the weekly touchpoint plan, and the four session plan and script so it doesn't feel awkward to start. It's linked in the show notes.
Conclusion + bonus clip
Until next time, make the memories, keep the story. Letters from today for the days ahead. And a little bonus clip if you're still here from my grandparents, my Nana and Papa.
Bonus clip (Nana & Papa)
What's the best compliment? The best comment you've ever received? Somebody that I respected told me that they thought I was brilliant. Obviously, they're not a very good judge of character. What is your greatest regret? I think my greatest regret is that I was afraid to fail and you shouldn't be afraid to fail.
If there's something you really feel drawn to that you'd like to do, you should try, and if you fail, you should try again. If you keep failing at the same thing, then the world's telling you that you don't have the talent or the ability for that. But in many cases, you end up taking jobs that are relatively safe that you know you can do, but those aren't necessarily the jobs that would be most fulfilling.
Hmm, and the things that would be most exciting, what is your greatest hope? That I can stay healthy. The rest of it's all money and all that stuff doesn't matter if you're not healthy, if you don't feel good. What are some cultural and or world events that stand out to you from when you were growing up? Well, I remember World War ii. What do you remember about it? I was glad when it ended. I mean, we would have air raid wardens and they would come around, but you had to make sure that all the lights in your house were off and it was scary. They also stopped radio broadcasts. There were no radio broadcasts during those times, so when you would have an air raid practice, all the lights had to be off.
There was no radio, and of course there was no TV then. Right. Because if, if somebody was gonna try to attack you, they would hone in a radio frequency for where they wanted to bomb. What is your greatest hope? Peace. How do you feel about getting older? There's nothing you can do about it. I'm thankful I got this old.
You enjoy your life as long as you can.
