A Father’s Day gift: the stories Dad never wrote down
Most dads have a handful of stories everyone has heard and a hundred nobody has. A Life Story Book asks the questions that bring the rest out: his first job, the house he grew up in, how he met the people who mattered, what he would tell his younger self.
He answers one question at a time on a simple private page. You read the answers as they come in, nudge him with follow-ups, and turn it all into a book in his own voice, with his photos and your foreword.
Life Story Book is coming soon. Create a free account and tap “Notify me”; we’ll tell you the moment it opens.
At launch: preview in a first chapter after three answers
Questions he will actually answer
Start from questions about work, places, the things he built and the advice he would pass on, then add the ones only you would think to ask.
No fuss
No account, no app, no password. A link by email or text, big clear type, and a stop button if he would rather not. You can also type answers while he talks.
Facts kept straight
The book uses only what he said. Anything the writing would need but he did not tell you becomes a question for you to ask, never a guess.
Step by step
- 1
Choose the questions
Start from 72 questions across eight life themes, then edit, reorder or write your own.
- 2
Invite the storyteller
We email one question a week or fortnight, or you send their private answer link by WhatsApp or text. No account for them.
- 3
They answer in their own words
Large type, drafts that save as they type, photos, and a skip button. You can also type answers while you chat.
- 4
Preview a chapter
After three answers, see a first chapter in their voice. Add follow-up questions where a story deserves more.
- 5
Make the book
Answers become chapters with your foreword, their photos and a contents page, ready to edit, share privately and download.
- The storyteller’s name, your relationship and (optionally) their email
- Questions from a curated bank of 72, edited or written by you
- Their answers, typed on a private page with no account, or by you as you chat
- Photos with captions, and a foreword from you
- A memoir in the storyteller’s own voice, chapter by chapter, lightly edited
- Nothing invented: gaps become questions for you, and details not in their answers are flagged
- Their photos with captions, your foreword and a contents page
- A normal Penwrite book you can edit, share privately for comments, narrate or translate
- Screen and print-ready PDFs at 6×9 or 8×10 on a paid plan
Previews are free for signed-in users during the 7-day Pro trial. Making the full book uses a Pro book credit (Pro includes one a month), and downloading or printing needs a paid plan.
Example pages
Illustrative artwork shown while sample books are being made.
Making it special
- Ask about things he made or fixed: practical questions often unlock the best stories.
- Add a follow-up whenever an answer mentions a person or place you have never heard about.
- Scan a few old photos and add them to his answers; they become photo pages in the book.
Frequently asked
Is it good for a grandad too?
Yes. Choose the relationship when you set it up; the emails come from you by name, and the questions work for any generation.
Can we print it?
On a paid plan you can download a print-ready PDF at 6×9 or 8×10 inches, set up for print-on-demand services, as well as a screen PDF to share.
Will it make things up?
No. Chapters use only names, dates and events from the storyteller’s answers. Where the story has a gap, you get a question to ask them instead, and any detail that is not in their answers is flagged for you to check.
Does the storyteller need an account?
No. They answer on a private page with large type, by email or from a link you send. They can save a draft, add photos, skip any question, and stop the emails with one click.
Be first in line for Life Story Book
Life Story Book is coming soon. Create a free account and tap “Notify me”; we’ll tell you the moment it opens.