Testimonials
Thanks everyone!
Please send your own testimonials and I will add them on this page!
The Family Memory Project is a simple step by step process to record your family's history for future generations. Rie Natalenko has written a precise step by step guide in an easy to follow format to help me to be part of a small project to preserve the emotions, sites and relevant stories of my family that we will cherish forever. The guides and question prompts will be invaluable to help me and my family get started. This will be an incredible journey for all of us!
Kind regards
Susan Reid
I am so happy with The Family Memory Project. Rie’s passion for this convinced me to try it, and I was able to collect many of Mum’s stories before she passed away. She didn’t know who I was, at the end, but she still told her stories! Thank you, Rie. We’ll have this forever, now.
Ann Clarke
I've been thinking of recording my parents memories for some time but didn't know where to start or what to cover.
The list of questions and the decade pages to encourage my parents to think and prepare for our sessions made it exciting instead of overwhelming. Dr Rie made the project accessible instead of daunting and I'm proud to be undertaking this project on behalf of my siblings and for future generations.
Susan Wallis
The Family Memory Project is a gateway into my family's history. Since having children, I've longed to know and understand my parents and their ancestors. Having the structure and guidance to interview my mother has enabled me to piece together her history, which previously felt like a garbage bag of post-it notes. Understanding where she has come from and her perspective of her world has helped me cultivate compassion for my mother, which has shifted our relationship. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to record her memories for my children, nieces and nephews, so that they may better understand who they are and their place in the world.
Gretel Van-Lane
Thank you so much for writing this book. I have been trying to trace my family history and it has been frustrating as most records are Eurocentric. I think this will be much more valuable and important for my family especially as so many of my older family members are beginning to fail.
Margaret Chung
My wife bought this and it has changed her relationship with her mother. Recording her mother's history deepened her understanding and appreciation of her mother. Her mum even reflected "Even I learned something" from sharing her history. This book is a wonderfully simple and clearly guided process to record anyone's history - young or old.
Simon Brown
The Family Memory Book and Kit are unique and precious and should be compulsory for all families! Rie has a wonderful, personable way of stepping you through every aspect so it makes the project easy and fun. I am so glad that I have now begun to record parts of my mums life which we will now have forever!
Don't just think about doing this one day - start today and let Rie help you!
Judeth Wilson
The project was inspirational and made me take action. I had thought of recording Rose's stories but had never got around to it. The Family Memory Project gave me a structure that was easy to implement and I have now made a start. Rose loves telling stories of her past so I am sure this is going to be an enjoyable process for both of us and a fantastic legacy for the great grandchildren. Catherine Saunders
As a person with a number of family photos of people I know nothing about The Family Memory Project has been a wonderful catalyst. Everything is there to get you started and keep you focused on getting those stories captured so that other family members can enjoy and share the stories behind the photos. It provides some very useful structure and I particularly loved the trigger questions. It helped me have some more in depth conversations with my Mum than I would have otherwise and had given her some impetus to have the conversations that would otherwise be left until 'one day'… I know my own children will enjoy finding out about their heritage and it will make their relatives that much more real to them. Sharron Spratt
I've been meaning to record our history for ages but as my eyesight failed it became harder to tackle, and I just didn't know where to start.
Sharing the memories with my family has been an easy process and I'm glad there's a record to fill in the gaps our family tree records don't cover.
Phil A Age 80
Thank you so much Rie for this invaluable book. I hope lots of people will take advantage of your generosity and record their parents' and grandparents' memories before they are gone.
Chris Wilkins
Hi Rie I have just printed a book of Grandma's memories. A friend and I got the idea to have a High Tea honouring our Grandmothers and at this High Tea everyone had to write a page of memories of a grandmother and or bring and item of theirs and talk about it. We had over 60 people and had to turn the others away as there was no more room. The stories were wonderful, the day went really well and now there are other societies that are going to try the same thing. We gathered 38 stories and I made them into a book which we sell for $10. It has been a wonderful way to get people talking about the past and the book is a great success. Thank you!
Carolynne Cooper
Thanks so much for the Family Memory Project.
I found the book easy to read and follow, all the steps were set out logically and in an easy to read format. If the steps are followed the project will become a delightful exercise in recording memories, experiences and events.
Several years ago, for his birthday, I gave my father a very special pen and a beautifully bound notebook for him to write down his memories and recollections of his life. Dad promised me he would and I took him at his work. I would sometimes ask dad how he was getting on and got a very noncommittal answer. Sadly dad passed away last year, and when we were packing up his things with mum the pen and notebook were in his drawer untouched.
This illustrates to me the importance of having a set of steps to follow and an end goal. It has also given me the 'push' needed to start recording mum's memories before it is too late.
I am a Funeral Celebrant, often called upon a to meet with a family at a very difficult time in their life. Often a family will tell me they do not have a family member who can do a eulogy for their loved one and it is left to me to try and find out information on the life of the deceased (sometimes It is like pulling teeth) so that their life can be celebrated in a fitting and suitable manner. Sometimes it is not until after the ceremony has been held that the family will tell me something they have discovered that would have made such a difference to the ceremony.
I feel that if more and more families followed your Family Memory Project method it would make life far more easier for them at their time of need.
Jacqueline Slater
Congrats on a fabulous and well needed project for people :) this is wonderful.
My dear 93yo nan passed away 3 weeks ago and all we have are verbal memories and stories.
This kind of work you're doing is fantastic! Emma Franklin Bell
As a published author with a PhD in history, it never ceases to surprise me the wealth of information that some families have in their possession, without knowing the true value of its importance to our social history as a community and nation.
Leah Day Mittagong
Thank you so much, Rie, I am really excited by the possibility of doing something about our family story and appreciate so much this help that you have so generously shared with me and many others,
Noela Vranich
What an amazingly easy to follow read. It has very simple to follow instructions on how to get the best from your friends and family right down to the questions to ask that get the best response.This is helping me to get down our family memories so that they are not lost from our future generations. Last week I was sitting and hearing part of our family history I had no idea existed and it wouldn't have been so if I hadn't read this book.Do yourself a favour and start to get the memories of your friends and families also, so that you too don't miss out on the great stories.
Tee Quu