Mel learns what you want
The people, the places, the questions you have always meant to ask. Mel builds the interviews around your family instead of a stock template.
A Living Memoir for someone you love
The Easiest Way to Preserve Your Parents’ Life Stories
Your parent answers the phone. That is the whole job. Mel calls, listens, and turns every conversation into a Living Memoir your family can read, hear, and keep growing. Nothing to write, no app to download, no account to log into.
No typing, they just talk
No app and no login
Interviews in 10 languages
Ten languages, one family story
Mel speaks their language
Mel interviews in the language your parent is most comfortable in, and can deliver written chapters in both that language and English, so every generation of your family can read them.
- Hello English
- Hola Spanish
- Bonjour French
- Hallo German
- नमस्ते Hindi
- Привет Russian
- Olá Portuguese
- こんにちは Japanese
- Ciao Italian
- Hallo Dutch
How it works
Not a list of prompts.
Real conversations.
Storyworth and Remento email your parent a question, followed by silence. Mel calls your parents on the telephone, listens, asks thoughtful follow-ups, and makes it easy to keep talking—so the stories come out naturally, not as homework.
See how it worksDeep conversations with your loved one
Mel calls, listens, and remembers. Every answer opens the next question, so stories surface that no pre-written prompt could have reached.
Their Living Memoir comes alive
Each call becomes a written chapter in their own voice, with the original audio, on a private site that grows every time they talk.
Listen to a real call
Experience Mel's interview style
This is an actual telephone conversation between Mel and one of our storytellers. Listen to how easily the memories come out once someone is genuinely curious and in no hurry at all.
The Living Memoir
Not a book on a shelf. A living memoir that keeps on growing.
Every conversation becomes a beautifully edited chapter with an illustrative scene and the original audio. Family can read, listen, and return as new stories are added.
Explore what’s included
Chapters
Sunday Mornings
Illustrative image inspired by this chapter.
Sunday began with the newspaper opening across the table and the smell of pancakes from the kitchen. Nobody rushed. That was the quiet gift of those mornings.
You start it for them
A meaningful gift that doesn’t become another task for your parent.
You set the direction and follow each chapter. They get the part that matters: a warm conversation about the life they’ve lived.
You choose what matters
Share the people, places, and questions you hope Mel will explore.
They talk on their terms
Mel calls by telephone in conversations shaped around their life.
You watch it grow
Read every new chapter and share the private site with your family.
What your family receives
Everything needed to keep a life story alive.
The memoir lives online from the first chapter onward. It can be revisited, corrected, expanded, heard, and shared with the people you choose.
Empathetic interviews with Mel
Telephone conversations built around your parent’s memories and pace.
Written, edited chapters
Each interview becomes a readable narrative rather than a raw transcript.
Original audio
Hear the pauses, laughter, expressions, and voice behind every story.
A private Living Memoir
A stylized family website that gains a new chapter after every interview.
Read a chapter
Sample memoir chapters
Real stories from real people, drawn out in conversation and written up the way they were told.
A Refugee's Journey to Finding His Voice
"I was just a child when we fled Afghanistan — barely ten years old. The memories of that escape are hazy, fragments really, mostly pieced together from what others have told me."
The Recipe Box
"The recipe box sat on my mother's counter for fifty years before it came to mine. Every card in her handwriting is a day I can still taste."
Redefining Success: A Father's Evolution
"I used to have this crystal-clear image of my future. Like many young entrepreneurs coming out of Harvard, I saw myself as the next Bill Gates."
The Kite and the Birthday
"My earliest memory of Los Angeles isn't of the sprawling city or the warm California sunshine — it's of a gusty day, a wayward kite, and a hospital visit."
What families tell us
The part they did not expect was how much their parent enjoyed it.
My dad could never handle writing his own stories, but he loves talking to Mel. And it's so easy for him to edit the writeups over the phone. I'm learning things I never knew, and he's incredibly happy!
The summaries are great, and my mom is really enjoying the conversations. We had done Storyworth with her before, and she thinks this is miles and miles better!
TellMel is terrific! It's like having a memoir coach in addition to her being an interviewer and ghost writer.
Simple annual plans
Choose how much of their story you want to preserve.
Every option includes Mel’s interviews, written and audio chapters, and a private Living Memoir for your family. The offer shown here stays with you through signup.
Annual · 12 interview hours
$149.99/ year
Enough time to capture a full life story over the year.
- 12 hours of interviews with Mel, use anytime
- Written chapters with original audio
- Private Living Memoir website
Annual Plus · 24 interview hours
$259.99/ year
Double the time at the lowest price per hour — a rich, detailed memoir.
- 24 hours of interviews with Mel, use anytime
- Written chapters with original audio
- Private Living Memoir website
Annual plans renew until canceled. You will review the complete terms before checkout.
Questions families ask
Before you begin.
What if my mom or dad is reluctant to open up?
Reluctant storytellers are Mel's specialty. Mel starts with easy, comfortable topics and lets your loved one set the pace, with no pressure and no prying. Most narrators are surprised by how much they enjoy the calls, and many come to look forward to them each week.
Can I keep certain topics off-limits?
Yes. During your onboarding call you can tell Mel exactly what to avoid and what to focus on. You can also coach Mel's style: some families ask for gentle and patient, others for 'be straight with him, he likes humor.' Mel follows your lead.
What if they speak another language?
Mel conducts interviews in English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, and Dutch, and can deliver written chapters in both their language and English, so every generation of your family can read their story.
What happens if they miss a call?
No stories are lost. Mel leaves a friendly voicemail and tries again, and you can reschedule calls to whatever day and time works best. Missed calls never use up your interview time.
How many stories does an hour capture?
A typical story call runs 20 to 30 minutes and becomes a full written chapter. A 12-hour package is roughly 25 to 30 weekly conversations, and most families capture a lifetime of stories over several months of calls.
Who can read the stories?
Only your family. You choose who receives the chapters, and the stories belong to you. They're never shared or published anywhere else.
The stories you mean to ask about can begin with one call.
Set up their memoir. Mel will take it from there—one warm telephone conversation and one new chapter at a time.
Get Started