Rememberize Newsletter, July 2019
Summer Storytelling Specials
Children’s Books for Your Children’s Sake
Sharing the stories of our ancestors connects our families through the generations, as we get to know those who paved the way before us, and they become the heroes in our lives. Their story becomes part of our story. Children’s books bring the youngest members of our families into the loop as we all share those amazing stories through illustrations and easily understandable text.
Our family stories create our family narrative, and they become more permanent when they are written down and shared. Research shows that families with strong family narratives are more successful. Individuals who are aware of their family stories actually have more self-confidence, allowing them to better face life’s challenges.
That is one reason Rememberize believes, “for your children’s sake: tell your stories.”
It is important for all of us, especially our children, to know the stories from our past, and that is why we are always looking for fun ways to engage the entire family in the storytelling process. A great way to share your family stories and connect the generations of your family is one of our family history children’s books.
A Rememberize Children’s Book is an 8″ x 8″, saddle-stitched book, in sizes of 16, 20, or 24 pages plus a 4-page cover. Beginning with page 2, the book is laid out in 2-page spreads, with text on one page and a matching illustration on the facing page (this can vary left and right throughout the book, as desired).
Our Summer Special gives you the opportunity for free design and printing (your family provides the text and illustrations) of a family history children’s book. You would pay only the printing costs for the number of books you desire. (If you prefer that we assist with the writing and/or illustrations, we can do so, and we will charge back our costs for those services).
Contact us today to purchase our Summer Special pricing and to begin the production process. Call us at (801) 337-9573 or send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll get you started by selecting a topic and making a production plan for your children’s book.
Finding Family With Children’s Books
As we noted in our last newsletter, our inaugural Rememberize illustrated children’s book debuted at RootsTech, where a family member saw it. That began a chain reaction which led to more than 100 relatives from all across the United States ordering a copy of the book to share with their own children and families. The story of Jens and Marie Jorgensen united family members, and will do so for years to come.
As you share your historical stories in your families, those same things will happen. The Jorgensen family children’s book also pushed us to create a new tool that will launch soon, an online ordering system that will allow our customers to offer Rememberize books (Family History Children’s Books, Stories of Life mini-books, Photobiographies, and full histories) to family members and friends in advance of printing, spreading the costs involved with many relatives who will enjoy the books as much as you will.
Let’s Create & Crossroads Festival Drawing Winners
We have attended two events since our last newsletter, and we want to announce the winners of our prize drawings that those events. Chelsy Burnah is the winner of a Stories of Life mini-book from Let’s Create 2019, and Mary Louise Hughes won the printing of five Family History Children’s Books at the Story Crossroads Festival.
Upcoming Events
Haven’t seen our products yet? Wonder what a Rememberize children’s book or photobiography looks like? We’d love to show you samples of our Rememberize books. If you’re in the Provo, Utah area, you have to chances to see us in the next month, and see the work we do.
We’ll be at the Provo Freedom Festival Freedom Days in downtown Provo July 3 through July 6. We’ll also have a booth at BYU Conference on Family History July 30 through August 2. We’d love to see you at either event or to make an appointment to discuss your storytelling needs.
Recent Rememberize Projects
Our most recent Rememberize Photobiography project was a 30-year anniversary book for our founder, Joerg Weser, and his wife, Desiree. A series of interviews, combined with their additional writing about the stories of how their paths merged to create a lifetime of memories. The book turned into a 90-page combination of written memories, photos, and a collection of family videos that will be a treasure for the Weser family for years.
Since our last newsletter, we have delivered two of the projects we mentioned then. The family of Colonel Don Andrews is enjoying his biography that covers the period of his life when he served in the U.S. Army, including his time in Vietnam. That 52-page photo biography celebrates him and his message of, “Flying every day until it’s time to go home.” Don spoke recently of his experience working on this book.
From Don’s book we’re also debuting our new video project – Rememberize Messages. His message that we should keep working every day until our work is done is a great one.
Quarterly DIY Tip
Write it down.
Every time we complete a Rememberize project, it becomes increasingly clear that people who think their life is just “ordinary” might be missing something. Each of us has an amazing set of stories that will entertain our families and provide life lessons to lift and inspire. If you are not yet ready to go beyond it, we encourage you to take this first step — write it down. Keep a journal of current stories, then think about the stories of your past and write those down as well.
I recently attended an event that allowed young people to sit down with adults, who shared their stories over dinner. It’s amazing how inspiring the simplest of stories can be, but they lose their ability to inspire if we don’t write them down. For our sakes, and for the sakes of our children, please write down your stories. And if we can help, let us know.
Planning Your Christmas Gifts
It’s not too early to start planning a personal history Christmas project. At Rememberize, we encourage everyone to plan the perfect gift as early in the year as possible, especially if you can are looking to give the perfect gift of memories. That gives you lots of time to finish your photobiography before the holidays. Or … you can buy a gift certificate to give mom, dad, or your grandparents the gift of memories.
We are still looking for a full length, high-end personal history project to add to our collection of Rememberize samples. Are you ready to tell 20 to 50 short stories from your life, but need some help with moving the project along and getting it written? We’d love to work with you and will provide a discounted price for our services, so contact us to set a schedule to get yours started.
