Choosing a life story service

A biographer, not a questionnaire.

StoryWorth and Remento are good products, and many families are happy with them. They work best for a parent who enjoys writing or recording on their own, every week, for a year. OriginStories is built for the parent who would rather just talk — and for the family that wants the stories behind the stories.

Give the book — $149Everything included. No subscription.

	OriginStories	StoryWorth	Remento
How the stories are collected	A live interviewer talks with them, one chapter at a time, and asks follow-up questions	A question emailed each week; they write the answer	Prompts they record themselves on a phone or computer
Writing required from the storyteller	None — they talk	Yes — typed or dictated replies	None — recorded, then transcribed
Follow-up questions in the moment	Yes	No	No
Remembers earlier conversations and builds on them	Yes	No	No
Family and friends interviewed for the book	Three included, more for $19 each	Family can submit questions	Collaborators can add prompts
Printed book included	Paperback, 80–120 pages, shipped to their door	One hardcover included	One hardcover included
Family review before printing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice recordings stored	Never — transcribed live, audio not kept	N/A	Yes — recordings are kept
Price	$149 one-time	From about $59 per year	About $99 per year

Competitor details are from their public websites as of September 2026 and may change; please check their sites for current offerings and prices. StoryWorth and Remento are trademarks of their respective owners, which are not affiliated with OriginStories.

Give a book — $149

What families say

“

Dad hasn’t stopped talking about his sittings. He told stories none of us had ever heard — sixty years of them. Reading the first chapter, I heard his voice on every page.

Ellen R.

Gave a book to her father, 84

“

My grandmother doesn’t use a smartphone and she didn’t need to. She just talked. Watching my mom and her sisters add their own memories to the chapters was the best part.

Marcus T.

Book for his grandmother, with 5 family contributors

“

I bought this for myself, honestly. Twenty minutes at a time, it walked me through my whole life in order. My kids will have answers to questions they haven’t thought to ask yet.

Priya S.

Started her own book

One price. One book. Theirs.

Everything included for a single one-time payment: unlimited interview sittings, up to three contributor interviews with family and friends, your family’s review of every chapter, and a printed paperback copy shipped to their door.

Want more voices in the book? Add as many extra contributors as you like for $19 each — a sibling, an old friend, the whole choir.

30-day make-it-right guarantee. Unredeemed gifts refunded in full.

$149one-time · everything included

❧A finished book of 80–120 pages
❧As many interview sittings as they need, at their pace
❧Three contributor interviews included
❧Family review of every chapter before anything is final
❧One printed paperback copy, shipped to their door
❧Extra copies at printing cost plus a few dollars

Additional contributor voices beyond the three included: $19 each.

Give a book — or start your own

Questions families ask

Does the storyteller need a computer or an app?: No. They open a link in any web browser — a phone, tablet, or laptop — press one button, and talk. There is nothing to install and nothing to type. Many families set it up on a tablet and leave it on the kitchen table.
How long does it take?: The whole story usually takes four to six hours of conversation, in twenty-minute sittings spread over days or weeks. There is no deadline. Every sitting is saved the moment it happens, so stopping mid-story loses nothing.
Is it really an interview, or a list of questions?: An interview. The interviewer works one chapter at a time, follows up on what it hears, asks for the day, the room, and what was said, and comes back to a chapter on a later sitting to go deeper. It remembers every name and every year from earlier conversations.
What if a topic is too painful?: The interviewer asks permission before heavy ground and drops it the moment they decline. The family can also list topics to leave out before the first conversation, and those are never raised.
Is their voice recorded?: No. Speech is transcribed live and the audio is never stored. The transcript is the only record, and it belongs to your family.
When does the printed book arrive?: Once your family approves the chapters, the book goes to the printer. The included paperback ships by mail and typically arrives within two to three weeks; faster shipping is available at cost. Extra copies can be ordered anytime at printing cost plus a few dollars.
What if it doesn’t work out?: Unredeemed gifts are refunded in full on request. For a book already underway, contact us within 30 days of purchase and we will make it right, up to and including a full refund.