there comes a time when the decades behind us stretch further than the years ahead of us
Life pauses for us to hear the echoes again — the voices, the laughter, the music, the kitchens, the summers, the people we loved, those who loved us. And we realise the ordinary days were never ordinary at all.
For many the decades pass in silence
telling stories changes that.
Through a series of gentle conversations, I shape memories into memoirs, legacy letters and last words written with emotion and clarity, echoing your own voice.
Time moves quietly. Quickly. Moments once held vividly, fade, soften.
Before more is lost to time.
Begin while your story is still yours to tell.
abouttelling stories
You have spent decades building your life.
Creating a home. Raising a family. Living. Surviving. Becoming.
Loving and being loved.
Memoir writing is about preserving the texture of our lives before time comes for the details.
The places.
The patterns.
The truth, the tears.
The ordinary moments that shape our lives.
This is not rushed. Not a questionnaire. It is the act of sitting with your life and reflecting, true to you.
Our memories once vivid, do fade
begin while your story is still yours to tell
Investment - $1,990 inclusive
There are things we carry for years that never find their way into conversation.
Words held silently, to avoid reactions. Love assumed rather than spoken.
Apologies delayed. Gratitude never truly expressed.
Stories that sit tightly in the chest waiting for the right moment that never arrives.
Together we gently shape your private truths and say what needs to be said.
A legacy letter becomes a priceless artefact, passed quietly through generations.
Kept under pillows, in toolboxes, in handbags. Returned to during heartbreak, marriages, births, illness, grief and loneliness
Investment - $660 inclusive
Legacy letters are printed on vellum paper, wax sealed, written in calligraphy or created using sampled handwriting.
Celebration of Life · Funeral, Memorial Literature · Eulogy
An invitation to put your affairs in order emotionally.
Not the administrative version that is pieced together after you are gone.
A handful of dates. A photograph beside a coffin. Generic words borrowed from somewhere else because grief arrived too quickly and nobody knew where to begin.
Together we form the words you would want left behind, reflections, songs, stories, humour, memories, regrets, private truths and
the people and places that are home to you.
Written now, held safe until it’s needed
Have the Last Word
Investment - $680 inclusive
START A CONVERSATION
Moments you couldn’t stop. Words you didn’t have.
Versions of yourself you had to become just to survive.
Some ugly stories stay trapped in the body for years — heavy, unfinished, unnamed.
The childhood cloaked in silence. The assault that divided your life into before and after. Vicious addictions. Visceral grief. Violence hidden. Years spent in survival mode while the shame settled into the body. The silence. The rage. The things carried alone for so long they started feeling like identity.
This is not about reliving horror. It is not therapy.
It is about finally placing the weight somewhere outside of yourself.
This writing can sit quietly alongside therapy, grief work, trauma-informed care or recovery as another way of dealing with the trauma.
Only your story. In your own words. Without interruption, disbelief or worse, pity.
Investment - $560 inclusive
A place to finally set down what was carried for far too long.
Step Inside the Stories
What I know now
Is that I was born to write, I grew up, not being heard, in Ireland, when I did speak I was dismissed for ‘telling stories’. So I read, voraciously, and wrote til the ink ran dry. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil, it’s my natural state of being now.I raised my family in Aotearoa New Zealand. I now travel to deliver and write words all over the world. That sense of story, of memory, of what’s carried and what’s left behind, shapes everything I do.
I expressing what the silence actually carries, finding words to express feelings that can disappear into the abyss,
Words to illuminate the injustices of this word, Words can be presented in way that they can finally speak to someone when nothing else can be heard. That’s deopending on the chosen words
What keeps me going is the fact that if you don’t tell your story, someone else will—inaccurately, briefly, not at all. Or worst of all, lies. Someone else’s version of your truth, Most lives end up reduced to a few lines, a handful of memories, half-remembered versions of who someone was. A scrap of paper with your own thioughts on it can mean the world to those left behind
It doesn’t have to be that way. I accompany you in a way that supports you to say what you want to with clarity and truth of emotion.
I don’t rush it, I don’t force it, I sit with you and guide you until the words come and when they do, they’re yours, not mine.
I’ll meet you wherever you are, in the grey, in the ‘I don’t know to begin‘ and sit with you, to guide you on how to translate your life into an eternal form.
For you, and for those who come after us, give the gift of truth.
The Answers
What’s Telling Stories all about?
telling stories is a private bespoke writing studio devoted to preserving the parts of a life that are too important to disappear. Stories that were never fully spoken. Memories that still ache decades later. Conversations families never knew they needed until it was too late to ask.
Our work focuses on 4 offerings: Memoirs. Legacy Letters. Last Words. The Unspoken. With the optional additions of Audio Narration and Print Editions.
Do I need to have my thoughts organised?
Of course not. Most people begin with fragments. Memories rarely return neatly and often surface unexpectedly — while driving home, hearing a song in a supermarket, folding washing, lying awake at night or catching sight of somebody in the street who suddenly reminds you of someone you once loved.
Sometimes memory hides itself inside ordinary things. An old birthday card tucked into a drawer. Wrapping paper kept for no reason. A faded newspaper clipping. Receipts from places long gone. The colour of a kitchen wall. The scent of perfume on an old coat or dress hanging quietly at the back of a wardrobe.
You can send memories naturally as they return through voice notes, text messages, emails, handwritten notes, voice notes, old photographs, letters, old documents or fragments that spark something in you again.
The memory recollection unfolds gently around real life, allowing stories to return in their own way and in their own time.
How does the process work?
The process begins with a 30 minute free clarity call — a quiet first conversation to explore your story, your memories and what matters most. No preparation required. Just a place to begin.
From there, if you choose to begin you will be guided on the next steps whereby memories are gathered gently. Guided conversations then help uncover the deeper stories beneath the surface — the people, places, heartbreaks, humour and moments that quietly shaped a life.
Your memories are carefully written and shaped into something lasting while preserving your real voice, personality and humanity. You receive drafts to revisit, reflect on and refine slowly over time until everything feels completely and unmistakably yours.
Final stories are drafted prepared and delivered digitally, with optional audio narration and printed editions available.
Are the conversations formal interviews?
Not at all. They are relaxed, guided conversations designed to gently uncover the moments and memories that matter most. Many people describe the process as reflective, emotional and unexpectedly comforting. IF you prefer you can have a trusted loved one present to support you!
How long does the process take?
Every story moves differently, however most memoir projects take approximately 8–12 weeks depending on the pace and depth of the story.
Legacy Letters are usually completed within 2–4 weeks. Last Words within 2–3 weeks. The Unspoken within 1–3 weeks. Audio Narration timing depends on recording length and editing requirements.
Can I review the draft?
Yes. You will receive draft copies throughout the process to refine details, correct names or dates, add memories, request edits and ensure everything feels authentic and true to you.
Stories are allowed to evolve naturally over time.
What do I receive?
All projects include a professionally prepared digital copy ready for private keeping, printing or sharing with loved ones.
Optional additions include hardback books, premium keepsake printing, audio narration and memorial presentation copies.
The Investment
Memoirs — $1,990
A deeply personal written memoir preserving the story of a life through guided conversations, flexible memory collection, writing, editing and final delivery.
Memoirs are typically approximately 55–80 pages in length and are usually completed over 8–12 weeks.
Optional additions include hardback memoir books, premium printed keepsake editions and audio narration.
Legacy Letters — $490
Private letters written for children, partners, family members or future generations. Often created for weddings, births, graduations, inheritance, reconciliation, illness, life advice and the things left unsaid.
Legacy Letters are typically 3–5 pages in length and usually completed within 2–4 weeks.
Optional presentation upgrades include vellum editions, wax-sealed keepsake packaging and framed archival copies.
Last Words — $880
A carefully written collection of final reflections, memories, guidance and personal messages designed to preserve your voice in your own words.
This offering may include obituary wording, order of service, a eulogy, final inscriptions and will preamble.
Final collections are typically made up of 3 documents totalling approximately 7–10 pages and are usually completed within 2–3 weeks.
The Unspoken — $440
A gentle allied-support writing service designed to sit alongside therapy, reflection or personal healing.
Created for stories surrounding grief, estrangement, trauma, regret, survival, identity and the things many people have never felt safe enough to say aloud.
Pieces are typically approximately 5–8 pages in length and completed within 1–3 weeks.
Audio Narration — $240 per 15 minutes
per 15 minutes. Available as professional narration, voice sampling recreation where possible. Ideal for preserving accent, tone, humour, personality and emotional presence.
Are printed books available?
Yes. Printed editions are available across all services including hardback books, premium keepsake printing, memorial booklets and presentation packaging.
Printing costs are charged separately.
Are payment plans available?
Yes. If cost is holding you back, please still reach out. Stories do not lose their importance simply because life becomes financially difficult. Wherever possible, every effort will be made to help preserve what matters.
How do I begin?
Book a free 30 minute clarity call and we can begin exploring the story you would like preserved.