A FEW KIND WORDS

“Alice, I think you are a total genius!

It’s been such a good experience and we’ve been singing your praises to the family and beyond. It’s a lovely thing you do. ”

“Alice you have done a wonderful job, and have engaged with my mother in a way that has got the story out that I know she wanted to tell.

Thank you again for taking my mum on this journey and producing what I know will be something that will be treasured by the family, especially the grandchildren as they grow. I think their sentimental value will only grow as time goes by.”

“Having recently been a customer, I am a huge fan of The Story Keepers Uk; keeping our family stories alive audibly makes perfect sense to me ~ all the nuances and different tones are captured in the moment of telling.

Then there is Alice Mayers, interviewer and listener extraordinaire! Her professionalism and skill at coaxing out the stories that need to be told with great deference and charm, is awesome to witness and every bit worth the investment. With all the recording paraphernalia for a top class result, she makes the experience extremely relaxed and fun. Her genuine interest in the subject, her willingness and patience with subsequent editing and fine tuning to get an excellent end product was part of the great service we received”
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“My husband and I spent the first months of lockdown uprooted from our home to look after my elderly parents in their home, nursing them both through Covid. Over those quiet days and nights of recuperation around the kitchen table my mother and father opened up to tell us some small but astounding stories of their lives, very personal and intensely felt. I concluded that there was a deep vein of memories waiting to be heard, honest truths wishing to be listened to, so that the spirit and voice of my parents and their childhood memories in particular, could be kept alive and better understood by us.. myself, my husband, my siblings and their families.

We are so happy to have found The Story Keepers uk, without whom we would not have been able to delve so deep, find all the richness of lived experience, reflections of age and revealing insights into my parents ordinary/extraordinary lives.

T h a n k y o u A l i c e !”

“I asked Alice to record the story of a friend who had lived in our village for decades. Largely for me but also for my godchildren ~ his grandkids. She captured his story brilliantly and gently and quietly extracted his story getting him to talk about his life growing up on the farm. The residents of the village and farming. It was a history lesson as well as his personal journey. Would I recommend The Story Keepers. Definitely. I only wish I had done it with my own parents. Alice is awesome at getting the detail and drawing out the story ~ largely because she too is interested. It’s a 5⭐️ from me.”

“Alice was amazing in preserving my father in law’s life story. She was so professional and demonstrated excellent attention to detail during the editing process. Thank you preserving this story.”

“Alice worked with my mom to make an incredible audio history of her life that we will all treasure forever. My mom had a lot of fun doing it and alice did a great job editing and creating a curated version that we can listen to in sections. I can’t recommend this enough. A great way pass on your family history. Thank you, Alice!!”

“I could not be more delighted in the way Alice worked with me to produce a book of my life in such a professional and creative manner. She made what seemed, at the start, to be a very daunting task, into a real pleasure and I am thrilled with the result. I can’t recommend her more highly..”

“When I first heard about Alice’s books, I knew I’d found a perfect 80th birthday present for my father-in-law. He is rightly very proud of his family history and has stories and photos from across the generations which I knew he’d be keen to pass on.

Sure enough, he thoroughly enjoyed talking to Alice – reminiscing, remembering people and anecdotes and digging out old photos. Throughout, Alice was aware and respectful of family sensitivities.

We were excited to see the book last week. It looks very attractive and is crammed with photos and family stories/anecdotes which have been edited but remain in my father-in-law’s tone of voice. He’s ordered one for each grandchild which they will treasure now and in the future.

We really appreciate the patience, listening skills and emotional intelligence which Alice demonstrated during this project. My father-in-law enjoyed the whole process and is delighted with the result. I would wholeheartedly recommend Alice and her life story books – a truly priceless gift. Thank you, Alice.
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“I gave my Mum a voucher for a life story interview with Story Keepers as her Christmas present. We all had such a great day - it was everything I’d hoped for and more. I am extremely grateful to Alice for showing such an interest in my Mum’s stories and our family history, and for teasing out new insights and memories that I hadn’t heard before.

Mum was a little apprehensive about being questioned but her mind was immediately put at ease once the process started, and she declared at the end that she’d really enjoyed it. It’s impossible to cover a lifetime in 4 hours, but Alice did a jolly good job trying!

The Story Keepers’ service is such a special and unique offering that I have been recommending it to everyone I know with elderly parents.
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“Dear Alice,

I just wanted to say what an amazing adventure I have had recreating my life story through your amazing company.

Your attention to detail and care that you have spent listening to every word, asking such important questions and trying to intersperse other ideas into the topic that is being discussed, have really helped open up many more stories that otherwise may have been forgotten.

What so many people do not realise is that relaying your life story to a third person who does not know you or your family is very comforting and allows you to express exactly what you want to say without fear of upsetting anyone until they potentially read what you have written!

I have enjoyed every moment and believe what you have to offer will greatly enhance anyone’s life experience.””

“Dear Alice,
I wanted to write this testimonial in acknowledgement of the film that you made for us which we will be using in our new online virtual Holocaust Education Programme. Working with a 96 year old man living in Australia was our first challenge. Since he is one of the few Jewish people alive in the world who remembers life in Brest, Belarus before the Second World War it was of utmost importance that we record him telling his story while we still could.
Oral history is specialist work, but working at a distance such as this, was a whole new level. Your ability to work with Sam over Zoom, especially when the topic was harrowing and sometimes extremely personal, was measured, sensitive and professional.
You carefully edited the interview and included important black and white photos of the time giving a real sense of connection.
We are delighted with the film.
Thank you
”

“My two daughters and herself purchased this opportunity as a gift for me - and what a gift - a rare opportunity to explore and record key times in your life - something that normally is done perhaps only for your funeral. When I say experience - Alice makes it so. On the face if it it seemed to be a bit daunting - where to start etc., but she wraps you in a “warm blanket” and guides you through the process with gentle and insightful questions. I am very grateful for the outcome - a lovely digital keepsake, but I am equally grateful for the experience”

“We bought the ‘Sounds Familiar’ audio life story for my Dad for Christmas. From start to finish Alice was fantastic. We had an initial chat and then decided to buy the gift voucher for Dad to use in January.

Dad says he really enjoyed the whole process and loved chatting with Alice about his life’s stories. We’ve all listened back to it multiple times and just love it. A really special way to ensure memories aren’t lost and will bring us so much pleasure.

Thank you Alice, we’ve loved doing this for him and us. Highly recommend and other relatives are interested now too.”

“Trying to condense your life into 45 minutes, including 7 pieces of music that matter to you, is a bit of a daunting prospect. Alice made it simple, and fun, and the end result is something I feel very happy about indeed. Thanks Alice!”

All very weird though, as I just read that back from the review I can actually see now!”

“My daughter arranged for Alice to come and both video and record me for my birthday treat.
Alice is a wonderful, warm and caring and funny lady, who also excels at what she does.
I would fully recommend her to anyone and everyone”

“My folks were glowing with praise after your second visit. Even after 58 years together it seems you can learn new things about the other half! ”

“What a lovely experience talking with Alice about my musical and personal memories of growing up, through to where I am now. She was really great at making me feel relaxed about talking through experiences and linking those to the music has played a big part in my life.”

“This is brilliant! Sounds quality. What a great interviewer you are!! Listening to this now.....this is lovely! ”

“Quite a profound experience listening back to your self. In my life I rarely hear my own voice, and when I do I’m rather self conscious of it, but through this experience I’ve come to terms with it a lot.

The experience has been like meeting yourself from outside as a stranger, rather than the norm of seeing ourselves from the inside, which is often a skewed reading or perception. I was pleased how I liked the man in the mirror so to speak!

You are a consummate interviewer in that you listened intently, were genuinely interested and asked the right questions (not necessarily the obvious ones) to continue drawing out the narrative.

It’s a cathartic experience having the jumble of one’s life made sense of by hearing it condensed into a single narrative. It also feels like a legacy I can feel proud to leave to others as a true representation of me, were I to fall under an electric tram tomorrow (were there indeed to be any in Bristol!).

What an interesting and fulfilling experience, thank you Alice! ”

“I was excited by the idea of having a permanent memory of my dad marking his monumental 70th birthday.

I spoke to my dad and brother explained the concept, my dad was amazing, and said although he did not quite get it, he was up for giving it a go if both my brother and I wanted him to do this. My brother also said yes...result...I was excited, I knew Alice would be amazing.

My dad had a telephone interview with Alice and she took it from there...

Post videoing my dad rang me to tell me he had a fantastic experience reliving his memories with Alice and that he was really happy, and was looking forward to seeing the video. He said she had asked him some hard questions that challenged him in parts of the interview...that’s the thing about Alice, she’s able to ask about stuff we would never have known to ask or dig into...
I got the edited video from Alice, I was blown away.

On the day of his actual birthday, post his birthday lunch his video was aired, everyone enjoyed his video...and I could see from his expression that he was proud. His four grandchildren got to understand what his life was like and gleamed new insight into his life and experiences. They talked to him about his life and asked more questions...My niece said she never knew her grandfather had experienced racism...for me this was what it was all about.

The video is something that is now accessible to us all, I look forward to airing the video again at his 80th...god willing...and the generations to come will get insights into my dad.

As a parent I am constantly trying to capture memories with the kids, but I realised how often I forget to capture the elders amongst us, hence I will cherish this video and the journey of the video and how special it made/makes my dad feel.

I have heard many who have lost there fathers say, my dad is my hero, the person who I look up too...It always made me wonder if I felt that way, or would feel that way...I have always loved my dad and have always been proud of him...I realised now my dad is my guiding light, he grounds me, he is cool, he’s been there, done that and bought the t-shirt before me, and through this experience I am able to take many of his life stories and relate to them.”

“Alice sent me some questions to think about in advance, and this really helped me to think about what I wanted to say. The camera was set up in my living room and took very little time. I was pleased that I could do it in my home, and this is where I am relaxed, rather than doing it in a studio for example. I really enjoyed the session!  I totally forgot that I was being filmed, which I don’t usually like. It was very easy to talk about myself, and Alice was clearly listening as she asked me helpful questions to get me to expand on what I was talking about, and sometimes to go back to something I said earlier that I had not finished. I have seen an edited version of the film and it is excellent - I am so pleased that I have done this, as it means that my children have a lovely record of my perspective on my life...so far! ”

“Watching Alice sensitively interact with my mother was wonderful - they had a great rapport from the start....”

“‘I really enjoyed the session, it was very easy to talk about myself. Alice was clearly listening as she asked me helpful questions to get me to expand on what I was talking about, and sometimes to go back to something I said earlier that I had not finished. I totally forgot that I was being filmed, which I don’t usually like. ’”