Private memoirs, written in your own words
Word & Deed writes private memoirs for Australians who want to pass on the values and lessons behind their life's work.
You tell your story to an experienced interviewer over a series of conversations, and a professional writer shapes those conversations into a book that reads the way you speak.
The other inheritance
Your family knows the stories. They have heard them over Sunday lunch for years, one at a time.
What they rarely know is why you took the risk, how close it came to failing, and what you would do differently if you had your time again.
Those reasons, and the values and hard-won lessons behind them, are the other inheritance. Unlike the house or the business, they do not pass down on their own, and to most families they are worth as much as the money, and often more.
Your children watched you build it.
They saw the long hours, and they carry the work ethic.
Your grandchildren heard about it.
They know how things turned out, but the story behind it is already fading.
Their children will know only what someone wrote down.
Family memory lasts about a hundred years.
A well-made book keeps the story for a hundred years and more.
How a book is made
You talk with one of our interviewers, who come from careers in journalism and broadcasting. They know which questions open a story up and when to say nothing at all. You can meet at home, somewhere quiet nearby or by video, whichever suits you.
A professional writer works from the recordings and shapes them into chapters in your voice, keeping your phrases and your way of telling a story. You read every chapter as it is written.
Your book is designed page by page, with your photographs placed through the story, then printed on archival paper and bound by hand. Nothing goes to print until you have approved every page.
Two ways to begin
A shorter start
One or two conversations, written up as a portrait of you in your own words and printed as a hand-sewn booklet for the family.
Many families choose it as a first step, or as a gift for a milestone birthday.
About the ProfileThe whole story
Your memoir, written over a year of monthly conversations and bound by hand to last a hundred years.
It tells the story of your life and work, and the reasons behind it.
About the memoirLetters for the next generation, company histories and other writing are available on request. Every project is priced individually after our first conversation.
Who looks after you
I founded Word & Deed after a career as a commercial executive in sales and marketing, and I look after every project personally.
From our first conversation to the day your book arrives, I am your point of contact, and it is my job to make sure that the interviewer, the writer, the designer and the binder all produce work worthy of your story.
Not ready to talk yet?
We have put together ten questions that open up the stories most families never hear. We will send them to you free of charge, together with The Other Inheritance, our fortnightly essay on what families pass on besides money. You can unsubscribe at any time.
For advisers
If you advise families on succession or estate planning, you may like to read how introductions to Word & Deed work.
Begin
Your first conversation is with me. It is private and free, in person or by phone, and whatever you decide afterwards, you will come away with a one-page sketch of how your story might be told.