Imagine there was a grandma lovingly referred to as the Dragon Lady – the kind of person who once keyed her husband’s Bentley after accusing him of loving it more than her.
Imagine going to visit this vibrant woman and seeing the early signs of a degenerative disease that would steal her confidence, her connectivity and her stories.
Imagine at the same time another family member going to see the doctor and unexpectedly receiving a diagnosis of stage 3 cancer.
This is what happened in my family.
So in that moment, I decided I needed to do something.
It started simply. Just sitting with grandma, holding her hand and recording her stories before they were lost. Because I have a young family, I began to write her stories down and to pair them to photographs to connect the stories to people. And importantly, so that my own children can have it as a point of connection into the future. That is how I started to create my first memoir.
Then I started doing the same thing with my mum.
As I was going through this process, I started sharing what I was doing with friends. It didn't take long before I was invited to help save the stories of their grandparents. And so I started to build a framework to work with everyone, no matter their journey, so they had the opportunity to share their journey whether it be living through wars, immigrating to a new nation or raising children in circumstances so very different to our own.
I am so blessed that my business has become a way for people whose stories would never be shared, to find their own voice.
Because the thing I discovered was many people don’t feel that there is anyone wanting to hear their story!
Many people don’t feel that they have the skills, time or energy to look at that empty page and begin to work through the process of sharing their own experiences.
So I started a business to help more families. Because it is my privileged to work with people to give them back their voice. To use our skills and expertise to bring their story into focus, to share with their loved ones, and to share with the world.
From those early days, we have grown to helping people share all kinds of journeys - NOW. Not waiting till they are 90. Or 60 or 50! This might be sharing your mental health journey. Your fertility journey or your own inspiration for your side hustle.
So we all have people in our lives who have a story to share.
It might be our parents. Grandparents or even us!
And we all have people we know who will never actually share their stories unless they have help.
We are here to work with you. With your parents and with your grandparents to capture the journey now.
My name is Natalie, and I am the founder of the Telegram Society and I believe every person IS a story.