For someone with dementia

They hear the voices of the people they know.

Children, grandchildren and old friends tell the stories from years back. It becomes a book with the family photos and a podcast link of the voices.

Start collecting, free See it working

Gathering is free. You won't need a card.

Hear it
Their voice plays from the page.
Read it
Every message is written out on its page.
Hold it
We deliver the printed book to your door.

The world gets better when people hear the good things we say about them.

We are enabling over 1 million people to say it. Share the stories, love and gratitude. Your voice is what makes the world's greatest gift.

Start collecting, free

Watch it

Here's how Granny's book of stories was made.

9:41
An older woman and two younger women laughing over old photos at a kitchen table
How it works

Bring everyone's stories together with one link!

Start the book

Tell us who it's for

Put in their name, then send the link to their brothers and sisters, the grandchildren and their oldest friends.

Share one link

Everyone adds their story

Friends and family can capture a memory by voice, video, writing or photos, wherever they are in the world. It's easy on any phone and nobody needs an account!

We put it together

Hear it, read it, hold it

We write out every voice note and gather it all into a podcast you can play and a beautiful book you can hold.

The three questions in the book

  1. What's a story about them you love to tell?
  2. What's a song, a place or a saying that makes you think of them?
  3. What would you like to tell them today?
How the messages begin

Each person starts with their name and how they're family.

A message that opens with Mam, it's Ciarán tells the listener who's talking before the story starts. The name of the person who recorded it is printed beside it in the book too.

1

Carers can put it on

Leave the link with the home carers or the care home, and they can put the voices on at any time of day.

2

Their own stories too

When they start on a story about the old days, open the link on your phone and record it. It goes in beside everyone else's.

3

Songs as well as stories

A song counts as a message. Anyone can sing the one they sang together at weddings or in the car.

What people say

What people say in a book for someone with dementia

Talk to them the way you would across the kitchen table, and leave in the bits where you laugh.

"Nora, it's Assumpta Hanley. Do you remember selling raffle tickets outside Mass with me every Sunday? We did that for nearly twenty years at the gate of St Mary's."
AAssumptaher friend from the Legion of Mary
"Mam, it's Rosaleen. I'm going to sing you the Spinning Wheel, the one you sang to us at bedtime. Here goes."
RRosaleenher daughter
"Hi Granny Nora, it's Ned. I lost a tooth at school today and I got two euro for it."
NNedher great-grandson, aged six
"Nora, it's Packie. I drove past the old house in Crossmolina last week. Somebody's painted the door red and put a porch on the front."
PPackieher brother
When to start

Start whenever you're ready

There's no closing date unless you set one. The printed book takes about three weeks to reach you, and the podcast link and the book online are ready the day you order.

In their words
A Christmas gift
We gave a book of stories about Mam to her for Christmas and she said it was the best gift she had received. There were some stories she had never heard! She felt really surrounded by love.
K
Kathleen's family
gave her the book at Christmas
What it costs

Gathering the voices is free. You only pay when the book is ready.

The gathering
Free
Send one link and collect the voices.
  • Every voice and every photo
  • Download every recording
  • Start as many books as you like
Start free
The voices
$45
Voice editing, and a personal podcast link.
  • Each recording tidied as it comes in
  • The original kept exactly as it was made
  • One link that plays every voice straight through
Choose the voices
The book
$99
Everything in the voices, plus the finished book to read online.
  • The finished book laid out to read online
  • Every message playable from its page
  • Every message written out beside its voice
Choose the book
The keepsake
$115
The book, printed and posted to you.
  • One printed hardcover copy
  • Posted to you
  • Everything in the book option
Choose the keepsake

Want to write your own questions? Start a blank book

Questions people ask

What is a good gift for someone with dementia?

Pick one that takes no learning. The book opens like any book.

How much does it cost to collect the stories?

Nothing. They can each record a message on their own phone, and it doesn't cost anything to collect them. You only pay if you want the voices edited, the book laid out or a printed copy.

Can older relatives who don't use smartphones take part?

Yes. They can say their piece down the phone while you record it on the link, or write their message instead.

Can we add old photos?

Yes. Anyone can add photos to their message, whichever way they answer.

Can everyone chip in?

Yes, if you turn chip-in on. Everyone who records can put money towards the book and saves their card. Their cards are charged when you go to pay, and it comes off what you pay. If you don’t finish paying, their money goes back within a week.

More books like this

Someone in a care home A life story From the grandchildren Someone who is terminally ill Grandparents A personal podcast

Whose voices would they love to hear?

Start the book now and invite people whenever you're ready.

Start collecting, free
Start collecting, free