Alex Saroyan has had an esteemed career in U.S. politics, and as he approached his 90th birthday, he wanted to preserve his legacy. His stories are rich with history that reflects many Americans of his generation. His parents arrived at Ellis Island in 1921, leaving war and unrest in their home country of Armenia in hopes of providing better opportunities …
David is an attorney and an accomplished musician, having played guitar with many of the great bands of our time. As he approached his 60th birthday, he was looking for a unique way to celebrate his life and share his musical experiences with his family. David came to 11stories with the idea to combine a Life Story book with fine …
Daniela Fortian, an artist, is 92 years young. She recently recorded her life story as a gift to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She recognized the importance of sharing the stories of her parents and grandparents, who came from Italy after the second world war to create a better life in New York City. Daniela reminisced about her grandmother making …
Kai contacted 11stories to do a multi-part project, which would include a love story, a life story and a corporate history. Kai is respected as one of the world’s formidable leaders in technology, with remarkable successes in internet systems and businesses. Now in his mid-40s, he wanted a way to reflect on his path to success, to record his experiences …
One of the best parts of my job is getting to hear client responses to their book. I love to hear the stories of surprise, gratitude, and joy when they first receive their book or when they gift the book to a loved one. 2015 was filled with life stories and love stories, business stories and creative stories. I was …
This Thanksgiving, we have the unique privilege of having four generations of family gathered together to celebrate – from our seven year old daughter to her great grandma GG at ninety-three years young. I had the honor of sitting down with GG for several hours yesterday, to interview her about her life, her loves and her losses, her reflections, and …
Here at 11stories, we create beautiful books to help you capture and share your stories. Usually those stories are told through interviews with clients, recording your stories in your words. But storytelling can occur beyond the spoken word, through creative writing and the visual arts. In this past year we’ve had the pleasure of working with several clients who are …
Robert’s project is a combination of a Life Story and a Corporate History, with an emphasis on reflection and lessons learned. Before his 40th birthday, Robert has built a highly successful company in the field of investment banking, with an impressive roster of clients throughout the United States and abroad. He recognized the relatively rapid shifts in his life with …
Michael’s Life Story book celebrates his 50th birthday, his remarkable successes in business, and his positive approach to life in the aftermath of a near-fatal car accident. His wife Stella hired 11stories to create a one-of-a-kind birthday gift for the man who had everything. She wanted to give him a rare opportunity to reflect on his accomplishments and to record …
In a recent essay in the New York Times, the memoirist William Novak writes about the challenges and rewards of writing books for a small, private audience, “writing books very few will read.” While Novak typically writes about famous people for a commercial audience (think Magic Johnson & Nancy Reagan,) he was recently hired to write private memoirs that would …
11stories: I’m curious, when you gave this gift to Marcus, what were your hopes? Stella: Well, at the time I was looking for a gift that would be meaningful for him. And I know he can buy anything material that he wants, but he’s a very reflective person, very thoughtful. I just wanted some way for him to have something …
We are thrilled to be able to offer our annual sale again this June, in celebration of my father, the original storyteller in my life. As you may know, I started 11stories after recording his stories for my own family. I saw the joy that it brought my dad to have the chance to sit for a few hours and …
11stories: What has this process been like for you, talking and reflecting on your life and your legacy? Client: I wanted to not just do the biographical stuff – I could have sent you my resume – but insights on how I view the world and things about me that are beyond just work. You know, I really wanted to …
Today is Me@20 Day, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Association of Personal Historians (APH.) For twenty years, this wonderful organization has been connecting people to professionals like myself, in an effort to help record those precious life stories. Today we celebrate the efforts of the APH by sharing a few of our stories. Want to join in? …
ZINSSER: One of the saddest sentences I know is, “I wish I had asked my mother about that. I wish I had asked my father about that.” Writers are the custodians of memory so it’s extremely important to get to people, interview your parents, your grandparents. Don’t worry what anybody else thinks. The important thing is to be a recorder …