For an occasion
For Christmas, a 75th, an 80th, a golden anniversary.
A gift that earns its place at the dinner table. Better than another bottle. Better than another framed print. Something they will talk about long after the candles are out.
This Christmas – order right up to Christmas EveGive them the gift
Give them the gift
of their own story.
Their life story, in their own words – drawn out by a patient, warm interviewer.
In their own words
“Nobody has a meaningless life.”
Read the transcript
Anna (Lily’s mum, telling her story in Chronicle): My only worry is if it’d just be really boring. You just think, oh, granny must have been such a boring woman.
Charlie (Chronicle’s founder): Everyone means to record their parents’ stories. Almost no one does. Then the voice and stories are gone. That’s what happened with my grandad. I’m Charlie, and I’ve built Chronicle so that doesn’t happen to your family.
Lily (Anna’s daughter and a friend of Chronicle’s founder): I was worried that she – that my mum might struggle with the initial setup of Chronicle and kind of using it consistently.
Anna: I was a little bit nervous because I hadn’t done anything like this before…
Lily: …when she started doing it, she, instead of writing it in the Chronicle app, was just telling me. And so I said, okay, stop telling me, or if you want to speak it, speak it, speak your story and hit record instead. …and subsequently, she’s been more confident using it herself without needing me there.
Anna: I actually found it a lot easier than I thought I would find it.
Lily: One story that I didn’t know about before she was using Chronicle was that she was born at home, which is interesting as my mum’s a nurse. So I thought she was kind of a hospital diehard.
Anna: Well, I hadn’t realised, but Lily didn’t know that I was born in the front room at my mum and dad’s house, because that’s where, when I was born in the 1950s, that’s where those babies were born at home, you know.
Lily: …quite often my mum said, oh well, it’s not very interesting. And you want to emphasise that actually it might not be interesting to you, but it really is valuable for their family members to read at a later date.
Chris (a friend of Chronicle’s founder, whose mum is telling her story in Chronicle): …when I was going through it with Mum as she was doing it, there was a few times where I was saying, like, oh Mum, like, you haven’t mentioned that, like, you should definitely talk about that more. …she liked to see that I wanted to know more about different things that maybe she didn’t realise were as interesting.
Sue (mother of Chronicle’s founder, telling her story in Chronicle): It doesn’t have to be world-changing. It doesn’t have to be life-changing. What happened through your lifetime is what happened to you. It’s what makes you who you are now, and all of that is therefore important to the people who love you. Nobody, nobody has a meaningless life.
Storytellers from Chronicle’s beta and their families – all friends and family of the founder – on what telling it was really like.
How the gift arrives
How a Chronicle gift unfolds.
The gift is in the invitation. The book is whenever they are ready.
1
The invitation lands on your chosen date.
Pick the day you want it to land – a birthday, an anniversary, or no occasion at all. They receive a personal note from Chronicle on that morning, with their first chapter ready to begin.
2
They tell their story, a chapter at a time.
Thirteen guided conversations, one chapter at a time. Targeted reminders keep them moving without pressure. Pause whenever they want. The story is theirs to tell, not a deadline to meet.
3
A finished book – theirs to read, share and keep.
When they have finished every chapter, the full-colour digital edition is ready to download and share. Memoir and Heirloom are printed and bound in the UK and posted: 148 × 210mm (A5), on 130 or 150gsm paper. The kind of book that belongs on a shelf for generations.
The experience
A conversation, then a book.
They talk – by voice or by typing – and the interviewer listens and asks the next question. Then it becomes a chapter they can read, refine and approve.
Actual screens from Chronicle.
The chapters
Thirteen chapters, and none of them fixed.
The thirteen chapters are a starting point – add, remove, or rename any of them in the setup wizard. The guided conversation follows the titles you choose and the information you give us about the storyteller; where the storyteller takes it from there is up to them.
Who gives this
Three reasons families commission a Chronicle.
For the family
For the parent whose story everyone tells differently.
Every family has different versions of the same memories. Chronicle records the one from the person who was there.
When things have changed
For the parent whose health has changed.
A scare or a diagnosis often makes a family realise how much it has never asked. Chronicle lets them tell it at their own pace, with no deadline.
The invitation, on the day
A note from Chronicle.
Dear Margaret,
Sarah has given you something to keep – your story, in a book.
They’ve set aside a Chronicle in your name. When you’re ready, you sit down at your own pace and simply tell your story – speak it aloud or type, whichever feels easier. There’s nothing to write from scratch; we take it from there.
Begin whenever feels right. There is no deadline.
On the day
A personal note from Chronicle, signed by you.
On the day, they receive a warm note – introducing Chronicle, naming you as the person who commissioned it, and inviting them to begin their first chapter whenever they are ready. There is no app to download, no account to set up. They click one link and start.
If you’re with them when it arrives, sit alongside for the first question. Let them talk rather than type – it’s the quickest way in.
Three tiers, no subscription
Choose their Chronicle
A one-off payment. No subscription. No hidden costs.
Life Story
The complete digital edition. The whole life, in their own words.
- Full-colour digital edition to read and share
- Thirteen guided conversations
- Voice or typed sessions – at your own pace
- Voice transcription and custom design included
- Family sharing included
- Upgrade to Memoir or Heirloom for a printed book
£99
one-off
Memoir
Everything in Life Story, in print. A full-colour casebound hardback.
- Everything in Life Story, plus:
- One casebound hardback, printed in the UK
- Full-colour printed interior throughout
- 130gsm cream paper
- Printed cover with forest-green title type
- Additional copies £50 each
£199
one-off
Heirloom
One thread-sewn keepsake. Built to last a century.
- Everything in Memoir, plus:
- One Smyth Sewn hardback – opens flat, lasts decades
- 150gsm cream paper, the heaviest stock we offer
- Priority support
- Ribbon marker and printed endpapers
£399
one-off
Upgrade any time – pay only the difference·60-day money-back guarantee·a finished book, whatever happens
Good to know
Questions
Is it too late to give it for Christmas?
No. What you’re giving is the invitation to tell their story, not a book that has to arrive in a box – so there’s no order-by date. Order on Christmas Eve if you like, choose Christmas Day, and their invitation will be waiting for them. The book is printed once they’ve finished telling it.
Is there a time limit on finishing?
No. It’s a one-off payment, not a subscription, so there’s no clock running. They can tell it in a few months or take much longer – whatever suits them. Nothing is lost between sittings.
What if they say their life isn’t interesting enough?
Almost everyone says that at the start. The questions are about ordinary things – the house they grew up in, what their mum was like, their first job – and the interviewer follows up on the small details. Those are usually the parts the family most wants to read.
What if my parent does not want to do it?
Chronicle does not pressure anyone. The invitation arrives; they can begin if and when they want to. You will see their progress in your dashboard. Most reluctant storytellers begin once they realise no one is watching the clock.
What if they get stuck mid-way?
Then they stop, until they want to start again. Targeted reminders nudge them forward without pressure. The book can be made from whatever chapters are finished.
Will they know I paid for it?
They will know you commissioned it – the invitation says so, in a warm and personal way. They will not see a price or a checkout receipt.
Can I read what they are saying?
You'll always see their progress in your dashboard – chapters started, chapters approved, the book taking shape. To read the chapters themselves you need their permission; if they give it, you can read along, comment, and help with the designing of the book. The story stays theirs to share or keep private.
Can the family share the digital book?
Yes. The full-colour PDF is included in every tier and can be shared with everyone you want to give it to.
Some stories can only be told now.
Pick the day you want their invitation to land. They start when they are ready. The book follows when the chapters are done.
Begin their story →