Preserving a Loved One's Memories: Audio Recordings

If you have any interest in preserving your grandparents, parents, or loved one’s memoirs, I highly encourage you to start as soon as you can. While most people are aware of how easy it now is to take a photo, not everyone realizes it is just as simple to record an audio file. In fact most smart phones can create a high quality audio file. When I interview individuals in preparation to write their story, I always record the interviews. The recording is a highly effective way to preserve their memories, allowing me to be present with them during the interview, and to be able to take detailed notes later.

Currently I am working on writing memoirs for Janet, about her parents Bob and Jeanne. On top of the in person interviews I have done with the couple, Janet has done some interviewing herself on her I-phone and has sent me the recordings. She keeps telling me how precious the recordings are. With the press of a button she can hear her parent’s voices telling her a story.

We are incredibly fortunate to be living in an age where it is so easy to capture moments throughout our life. For Bob and Jeanne, the only trace they have left of their parents and grandparents, besides their memories, is a couple of scattered photographs. For their children and grandchildren, they will leave behind albums stuffed with images, the memoirs I am now writing, and their voices telling their stories. What an incredible legacy!