PreserveConversation guide
Questions to ask your grandparents
Your grandparents are the only people who can tell you what your family was like before you existed. You don't need all of these questions — you need three, in an unhurried afternoon, with your phone quietly recording on the table.
Before you begin
Sensory questions first. Once they're inside a memory, the bigger questions arrive without effort.
- Sit side by side, not across a table. Interviews across a table feel like interviews.
- Record it. A voice memo is fine — their voice matters as much as their words.
- After a story, wait. Silence usually pulls the next detail out.
- Don't correct them. If a date is wrong, let it go.
- Come back another day. Three short conversations hold more than one long one.
- If they don't want to talk about something, move on gently. Stopping is what earns you the harder story later.
Their world growing up
Open with the small, specific, sensory things. They unlock everything else.
- What is the earliest memory you have?
- What did your street look like when you were ten?
- What did your house smell like on a Sunday?
- What did your mother sound like when she laughed?
- What did your parents do for work?
- What did you eat for dinner on a normal Wednesday?
- What did people do for fun before TV?
Family history
These are the questions that fill in the family tree no one drew.
- Where did our family come from before this country?
- Who in our family do I remind you of?
- Who was the black sheep? The favorite? The peacemaker?
- What's a family story that almost got lost?
- Who were your grandparents? What do you remember about them?
Love, marriage, and children
Ask how, where, when. They'll remember details you didn't expect.
- How did you and Grandma/Grandpa meet?
- What did you wear on your first date? When did you know?
- What was the hardest year of your marriage, and how did you get through it?
- What do you remember about the day each of your children was born?
- Was there ever someone else you almost married?
Work and the wider world
Textbooks give you dates. They give you the feeling in the room.
- What was your first job, and how much did it pay?
- What was the work you were proudest of?
- Who was a teacher, boss, or mentor who changed your direction?
- Where were you when [a major historical event] happened?
- What changed in the world that you never thought you'd see?
What they want you to know
Save these for last, when they're warm and unguarded. Let the silences sit.
- What's the best decision you ever made?
- What are you most proud of, looking back?
- What's a regret you've made peace with?
- What's something you wish you'd told your own kids?
- What do you want my children to know about you?
- If you could relive one day, which one?
What to do with the answers
Recordings that live on one phone tend to disappear. Put what you gather somewhere it will survive — and somewhere your family will actually open it. A Preserve holds the voice notes, the photos they can name, and your own memories in one private place.
Camilamy twin sister 
Errolmy dad 
Sun-heemy mom 
Niamy partner 
Vikmy chemistry teacher 
MochiMy Fur Baby 
Lolamy grandmother 
Wenmy friend 
Margiemy mom 
Raymy dad
Don't just read about it. Start.
Preserve helps you collect the stories, voice, and lessons of the people who shape your life — whether they're still with you or not.
Preserve someone you love →