You can start a personal history in many different ways. You may already have made a start. You might have a recording that someone made of you or another family member reminiscing. Maybe you have a sheaf of letters that your father wrote home when he served in World War II. Perhaps you've spent some time jotting down childhood memories. If you're in the midst of a transition in your life–a move, the death of a loved one or the birth of a new family member–you're thinking about the lessons that life has taught you and you want to get them down in an ethical will. Whatever the case, a personal history gets started because it seems that finally, the time is right.

Please note that my project price includes a basic number of services. If our work starts to go beyond what I have anticipated, I will charge an hourly or per-piece rate. Mileage is not included in these prices.

Sitting down and actually recording a person's life stories creates the basis for many personal history projects.

It's important to have the time and space to tell stories comfortably. I usually do this with you in a series of up to 5 interviews. The focus is on the storyteller, with minimal input from me, the interviewer. These sessions usually takes place in the comfort of a person's home, with distractions kept to a minimum.

For the person interviewed and for the family, there is great relief in getting these precious stories on permanent record. Sometimes just making a recording is enough, although...

• audio editing can organize the stories and provide transitions, making the recording easier to listen to;

• creating a memoir book that incorporates photos and captions creates a deeper level of experiencing, enjoying and preserving these stories. (Please see below for information about memoir books)

Audio Memoir: $1,270
A CD packaged in a Personalized Case with CD Booklet
Cost per each additional CD $10

Unedited Interviewing and Recording Option: $500
A CD packaged in a Personalized Case
Cost per each additional CD $10

For many of us, there is nothing more satisfying than a book! Although many folks love their audio recording, a personalized book that includes the faces and places mentioned in a person's stories helps to complete a person's life stories, especially for younger generations who enjoy opening up the "story book" time and again.

Please take a look at my Gallery to see examples of pages from some printed works that I've produced. In some cases, recorded interviews were the basis of these memoirs; in other cases, I worked with a body of material–written and visual–that needed organization and editing. The collaborative result is a beautiful, privately printed piece to share with family and friends.

100 Page Memoir Book: $6,275
A softcover book with a full color, photographic cover. Complete with 50 personal photos.
Cost per each additional book $18

60 Page Memoir Book: $3,945
A softcover book with a full color, photographic cover. Complete with 30 personal photos.
Cost per each additional book $14

4 Page Shortie: $778
A 4-page short memoir combined with 3 personal photos.
Cost per each additional Shortie $8

A traditional will legally tells your loved ones what you want them to have. An ethical will tells them what you want them to know.

What is your legacy? It is not just the money and possessions you leave behind. It's your values, your hopes for your loved ones, the lessons you've learned. "This is what has mattered to me" "this is what I believe" "this is what I want you to know about me" or "this has been my passion in life" are all priceless pieces of yourself that you can, and should leave for the future. Otherwise, how might your grandchildren know what you stand for? An ethical will is the chance to state all these things in your own words.

You learn a lot about yourself in the process of writing an ethical will. It helps you come to terms with your mortality, gives a chance to look back on your life so far, and provides a sense of clarification and completion. For these reasons, ethical wills don't have to be written in the final years of your life. People write them during life's transitions, too–before marriage, at the loss of a family member, at the birth of a child, when children leave home.

Gary Hirshberg is in his late 40s and is the CEO of Stonyfield Farms. "I've been doing a lot of estate planning, and you can't say anything (in a will)–you can't even use adjectives," Hirshberg told the Boston Globe in an interview. "Our will has very little to do with me...I would like a written record and road map of what my wife and I were trying to do, so when there's a big check for the kids, they know where it came from, and why. I want them to understand where this came from, and to inspire them to think hopeful thoughts."

An ethical will is a hopeful, positive process and document.

Ethical Will: $970
Your words designed in an up to 5-page document in a personalized presentation folder. The transcription of the interview session is included.
Cost per each additional presentation piece $20

Filmed accounts of interviews and preservation of stories and images via CD or DVD, or a website present more possibilities. I work with other personal historians to make such projects available to my clients. I'm happy to plan these with you.

If you've already got a family history project started, I can help you bring it to completion. Have you already written your history and want it edited and well-designed into a book? Do you have family letters that need transcribing, or photographs that need scanning and adjusting? Do you have audio tapes that you'd like transferred to a different format? Feeling overwhelmed and want me to take a look and help you get it done? Contact me. I'd be delighted to get you on track. Personal history should be fun and meaningful, not a chore!

I speak to groups about the value of personal history and can bring along a powerpoint presentation. Contact me for cost and information.