“I want to share stories about my grandmother with you and your kids.” Now in her 80s, with eyesight gradually declining, that simple sentence changed how I think about preserving family stories.
When I asked why, she replied, “Because neither you nor they know what life was like back then.” Her grandmother was born around 1890, during the Qing Dynasty, and held incredibly strict expectations for the girls in the family — rules about posture, behavior, speech, and education.
These aren’t just stories about manners; they’re about history, culture, and the lived experiences of women navigating a world we can hardly picture now. But with her vision problems, typing has become a challenge.
I realized that if we didn’t capture these memories soon, they might be lost forever.
I told her, “Just record the stories piece by piece and send them as voice messages.” I saved them, transformed them into narratives with LivesToTell, and sent both the audio and stories back to her. She was thrilled — the app captured exactly what she wanted to express, even with natural repetition or wandering thoughts.
When my mom passed away, I reconnected with extended family to honor her legacy. One cousin began sharing stories my mom rarely spoke of.
I uncovered dramatic stories about where we came from — my great-grandfather, who built a business from nothing in Shanghai; the rigid Confucian patriarchy; family survival during wartime; and how each generation sought freedom in different ways.
My cousin spoke for hours, driven by a deep desire to preserve our family's legacy for future generations. When I suggested publishing a memoir, she admitted she wasn't a writer — she could tell the stories, but not put them into words.
That is why we built Lives To Tell. Everyone has a story. Every family carries a legacy — just speak it aloud, and we transform your voice into cherished stories for generations.