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Your Life Story Awaits You
At Northern Life Stories, we specialize in creating unique biography photo books tailored to you or your loved ones. Let us help you preserve and celebrate their stories, connecting generations through personalized memories.
What we provide
Northern Life Stories is a bespoke story telling service based in Northumberland, offering tailored biographical work to older people, those in the early stages of dementia, people with early onset dementia and those going through palliative care.
Do you or a family member wish to encapsulate your life and lived experience in print? Would you or a family member like to talk through your life to someone who will listen and document your story?
What is it and how does it work?
I’ll meet the person of focus on two or three occasions for up to an hour at a time. This will be in-person if you're in the North East of England or online via zoom if you're anywhere else in the world. We’ll chat about their life, talking about their childhood days growing up, their adult life and later years. I will take scans of family photos and photos of memorable occasions and following these meetings you will receive a Harking Back Book which includes photos, a simple family tree, QR codes to link to favourite music and entertainment and a brief written biography.
I believe the Harking Back Book is an excellent resource for family and care workers to have phases of an individual’s life documented in one accessible book. It not only prevents old photos from being damaged but if kept close to hand, enables positive regular opportunities for client, staff and family to engage meaningfully.
Pricing And Services
Harking Back Books
We charge £20 per hour for time spent with the person of focus and a set fee of £50 for writing and compiling the book. Customers then pay for the printing of the book (from £20) and we'll discuss printing prices and style/quality together. A completed book will cost from around £130. If a customer would like me to spend more time with the person of focus to gather further information, this will be charged at £20 an hour and we will discuss and agree this on an ongoing basis with an updated charge sheet.
Long Form Biography work
We also offer longer form biography work on an extended basis. I will meet with the person of focus on a weekly basis and charge £20 an hour for visits and a set fee of £400 for writing and editing. This is considerably cheaper than other online offerings. Printing costs will be explored and discussed separately.
Multimedia
options
As a creator, I'm keen that as many people as possible are able to hear their loved one's stories. All visits will be recorded on audio (and video if desired) to assist in the writing process. If the person of focus wishes and consents, their audio conversation will be edited and uploaded to a dedicated Northern Life Stories podcast once the Harking Back Book is completed. Then anyone in the world can listen to their life story. This service is provided free of charge. If a customer wishes not to have their audio on the podcast, they can receive a digital copy of the audio upon request.
About Us
Hi, I’m Daniel! I’m a qualified social worker with years of experience working with older people and in dementia care. I latterly worked in a fostering service. Part of the role I enjoyed the most was completing Fostering Assessments of people who wanted to become foster carers. We explored people’s past life experiences and reflected on what would make them a great foster carer. This biographical role was really enjoyable and helped the prospective foster carers to look back on their lives. Many commented that it was a challenging but rewarding experience. My combined background in older people’s care and completing fostering assessments inspired me to start Northern Life Stories. Telling stories that won’t be easily forgotten.
If you'd like to see my interview skills in action, please check out my podcast, Post-Exertional Mayonnaise: a podcast about living with ME and Chronic illness, creativity and making meaning.
