The hardest person to shop for isn’t a friend, brother, sister, or significant other. No, the hardest person to shop for is the one who already has everything—often an older parent or grandparent who has, over the course of their lifetime, accumulated many of the possessions this world has to offer.
As priorities shift later in life, material possessions become less and less important. When you have more than enough clothes, books, shoes, sporting goods, furniture, artwork, and jewelry, what truly matters is a gift with real meaning. These gifts aren’t mass-produced in overseas factories, and they can’t always be purchased online or at the nearest shopping mall. They are individual, personal, and one of a kind—special, cherished, and perfect, even for the person who has everything.
One such gift is a LifeBook autobiography—an opportunity to preserve life’s most priceless possession: personal life stories. Within the pages of a beautifully handbound book, recipients can share with future generations their experiences, the lessons they’ve learned, and the friendships they formed.
Tools rust, equipment becomes outdated, furniture wears out, and clothes go out of style. But a LifeBook will be passed down from generation to generation as a treasured family heirloom. That’s what makes it the ultimate gift: a luxury gift, a timeless gift, and a gift with real meaning.
The LifeBook Memoirs process
A LifeBook is a truly special gift, but even the most meaningful gifts can feel daunting at first. Some people naturally feel overwhelmed by the idea of recording their life’s journey. With so many experiences, relationships, and lessons learned to recall, it’s understandable to wonder, “what should I include,” “where would I start?” and “how long is this going to take?” All these questions are valid, but they quickly fade away when working with the talented team at LifeBook Memoirs. Here’s how their process works…
First, the person to whom you’ve gifted the project will sit down for a series of warm, friendly, casual conversations with one of our expert interviewers. Over the course of several conversations, they’ll be able to jog your friend or family member’s memory to help them call to mind people, places, and experiences that may have been dimmed by time. They’ll enjoy the process of strolling down memory lane and reliving the good, bad, happy, and sad periods of their life.
Then, audio recordings of these conversations will be passed to an experienced LifeBook ghostwriter, who will craft a compelling narrative written in your friend or family member’s distinctive voice and style.
The end product will be a beautifully bound, premium-quality gift that your recipient will treasure and share with those whom she or he holds near and dear. And you? You’ll have the satisfaction of giving the person you love the gift of a lifetime—theirs.
Ali’s story
Here’s a real-life example of the impact a LifeBook memoir can have on the person who already has everything.
When Ali Levin needed a gift for her elderly father, she, like many of us, considered the usual options.
“It’s hard to give your father something meaningful,” Ali said. “He gave me everything and sometimes I think, what could I possibly give him that would bring a smile to his face? I could get him a tie, but he doesn’t even wear ties anymore. So, what do you do?”
Ali understood that her father would appreciate a run-of-the-mill gift, but she knew it wouldn’t touch his heart, so she thought long and hard and searched far and wide for a luxury gift that would have real meaning for him. Eventually, she discovered the concept of the LifeBook—a gift with real meaning and one that she knew her father would love: a LifeBook.
“I loved the LifeBook idea,” Ali said. “It wasn’t just a silly throwaway gift. It meant a lot to me—and to him. He’s engaging his mind through the process of recounting and sharing his memories and experiences with the LifeBook team. That’s been huge. And it’s been something positive for us to talk about.”
According to Ali, the autobiographical journey that her father then set out on has given her father renewed purpose.
“It gives him something important to do,” she says. “It’s incredible for him to have a purpose, to have a reason to get up, to think about the day, to get dressed to see Anna, his LifeBook interviewer.
“When you read his autobiography, his personality is just bursting through the pages—and there are so many great stories. I know that I’m giving him that gift of remembering really happy times. You can’t give someone more than that,” she concluded.
More real-life examples
The videos below offer a chance to hear from a few more people who gave a LifeBook project to a loved one. In the first, Miami native Angel Alvarez talks about how his mother was initially reluctant to write her memoir but ended up having a great experience and discovering how remarkable her story truly is.
In the second video, Duncan and Angie talk about their happy experiences of gifting LifeBook projects to their respective mothers. Both Duncan and Angie felt deeply fulfilled to be able to tell their mothers’ life stories through LifeBook Memoirs’ process.
A LifeBook is so much more than just a book
Duane Roemmich
Duane Roemmich serves as the vice president of author development at LifeBook Memoirs. In his time with the company, he’s observed that the process of writing a memoir is really about the engaging process of developing the book.
“The process involves six months of weekly face-to-face interviews, so interviewers get to know their subjects well,” Mr Roemmich said.
“Participants tell their stories, share their precious memories and the most important parts of their lives. It’s a very meaningful process,” he said.
Ready to start your journey?
Give a personal, incredible gift to that friend or family member who has everything. It’s a gift with real meaning, and it’s easy to get started. Just click here or give us a call at 561-782-9119.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Written by the LifeBook Memoirs editorial team
