We started Letter of Life because we each lost a grandparent before we got to ask the questions. This is our way of making sure other families don't.
My grandfather passed away when I was very little, and I have a hundred questions I'll never get to ask him. I started Letter of Life so other kids don't end up where I am — wishing they'd written it down while there was still time.
My grandparents on my dad's side passed before I was born, and I only met my grandfather on my mom's side once. I co-founded Letter of Life to make up for the time I never got — by giving that time to someone else.
Early life, family, the place they grew up. We start at the beginning and let them set the pace.
Career, love, the turning points, the proudest moments. The years that shaped who they became.
Advice, messages to family, the things they most want remembered. The wisdom they'd like to leave behind.
We turn it into two pieces — a full biography and a one-page letter in their own voice — review every word with them, and hand it to their family to keep.
Each finished piece is read back and approved before it's finalized. Completed stories are delivered to families as printed keepsakes and, only with the resident's explicit consent, kept in our archive so the people in them are not forgotten.
Every person's story matters, regardless of who's left to hear it.
We work at no cost to facilities or residents. This is a gift, never a service to sell.
We write in each resident's own words, not ours. These are their stories, in their voice.
Residents choose what they share and whether it's published. Nothing is public without consent.