A life story, printed in the UK

Give someone you love the gift that lasts for ever.

A patient AI draws their story out in their own words, at their own pace – and we make it a book to keep.

From £99·one-off, no subscription·no deadline, told at their pace

In their own words

“I actually found it a lot easier than I thought I would find it.”

Anna is telling her story in Chronicle; her daughter Lily is a friend of the founder.

Read the transcript

Anna (Lily’s mum, telling her story in Chronicle): My only worry is if it’d just be really boring. You just think, oh, granny must have been such a boring woman.

Lily (Anna’s daughter and a friend of Chronicle’s founder): I was worried that she – that my mum might struggle with the initial setup of Chronicle and kind of using it consistently.

Anna: I was a little bit nervous because I hadn’t done anything like this before…

Lily: …when she started doing it, she, instead of writing it in the Chronicle app, was just telling me. And so I said, okay, stop telling me, or if you want to speak it, speak it, speak your story and hit record instead.

Anna: I actually found it a lot easier than I thought I would find it.

Lily: One story that I didn’t know about before she was using Chronicle was that she was born at home, which is interesting as my mum’s a nurse. So I thought she was kind of a hospital diehard.

Anna: Well, I hadn’t realised, but Lily didn’t know that I was born in the front room at my mum and dad’s house.

Charlie’s grandad, Ken, smiling in a houndstooth armchair, in a tweed jacket and red tie
My grandad would never have written a memoir – but he’d have opened up if you’d given him the chance. Sadly, the detail behind his stories went with him.

That’s why I built Chronicle. – Charlie, founder · Read the whole story →

Every one, unique

A shelf of lives, each one theirs.

Templates to suit every taste and story – choose the colour, the title, and a photograph if you’d like one. Designed around one person, printed and bound in the UK.

A printed Memoir, Ferns of Ice
Example cover drawn by Chronicle’s cover templates – "The Long Way Round" by Jean Ashworth: a full-bleed golden-hour photograph of the Yorkshire Dales, the title large in cream serif across the foot
Example cover – "The Ordinary Sunday Table" by Rose Wilkins: a burgundy printed cover with a small gold fleuron above the cream serif title
Example cover – "Hold Your Brother’s Hand" by Beverley Campbell: an old black-and-white photograph of a young sister and brother holding hands beside a suitcase on a railway platform, mounted on a deep navy cover above the title
Example cover – "Sixpence Saturdays" by Raymond Fox: a plain ivory printed cover with the title in forest-green serif, set to the left
Example cover – "Where the Tide Turned" by Tom Fenwick: a full-bleed photograph of a British pebble beach at golden hour, the title in cream serif near the foot
Example cover – "The House on Aldous Street" by Vera Nkemdirim: a leather-brown printed cover with a fine cream double border, a small gold key motif and a cream serif title
Example cover – "My Life Story" by Ken Harries: a black-and-white photograph of a smiling older man in a checked flat cap and glasses, mounted on a forest-green cover above the title
Example cover – "Salt, and a Bit of Weather" by Derek Wilkins: a warm gold printed cover with a small sun motif above a forest-green serif title
Example cover – "The Garden She Kept" by Marjorie Hale: a full-bleed photograph of an English cottage garden in bloom, the title in cream serif near the foot
Example cover – "Everything I Never Told You" by Alec Boyd: a slate-grey printed cover with a bold cream serif title set to the left

Example covers, for made-up storytellers.

How it works

Four steps. No homework.

  1. You set it up, in a few minutes

    Their name, and the day the invitation lands: Christmas morning, a birthday, any day.

  2. They tell it, at their own pace

    A patient AI interviewer, one question at a time. Thirteen chapters, each with an ending.

  3. They make the book their own

    They read it back, change anything they’d like, then add their photographs and design it.

  4. Share it, or have it delivered

    A full-colour e-book for the family. With Memoir or Heirloom, a book printed in the UK.

No weekly emails, no deadline – this isn’t homework.

Watch how it works – 1 min →

The experience

A conversation, then a book.

They talk – by voice or by typing – and the interviewer listens and asks the next question. Then it becomes a chapter they can read, refine and approve.

Actual screens from Chronicle.
Why Chronicle

The depth of a ghostwritten memoir, in their own voice.

Not a list of questions to fill in yourself, and not a £2,000 ghostwriter – guided sessions at their own pace, drafted in their words, and refined by them.

In their own voice
Built from their own words
Printed & bound in the UK
A real hardback, made to last
One-off, no subscription
Pay once · no weekly email to ignore
Private by design
GDPR Article 9 · never used to train AI

Three tiers, no subscription

Choose their Chronicle

A one-off payment. No subscription. No hidden costs.

Upgrade any time – pay only the difference·60-day money-back guarantee·a finished book, whatever happens

See the full book specifications →

Take a look inside

Their voice, kept.

Chronicle writes in their words, not ours – the phrasing, the dialect, the way they actually talk.

Sample chapters, written for illustration – Beverley, Karen and Sheila are made-up storytellers.

On the day she left home

My grandmother tied a luggage label to my coat, like I was a parcel. “You hold your brother’s hand,” she said, “and you don’t let go.” Two of us on a plane to England, on our own. I don’t think I let go once the whole way.

Beverley · Jamaica to England, 1951
Charlie, his dad and his grandad Ken standing together outside a stone house, all smiling
Why Chronicle exists
“My grandad would never have written a memoir. He’d never have answered a weekly email. But being guided through it – by someone who loved him – got so much out. That’s why I built Chronicle.”
Charlie, founder · the first Chronicles are his own family’s
Why I built this →
A mock-up of Ken’s Chronicle – a forest-green hardback titled “My Life Story”
The one we’re telling together.

Start their story while it’s still theirs to tell.

Begin their story →

Good to know

Questions

The eight most-asked. The full list is on the FAQ page.

What do I get at the end?

A finished thirteen-chapter life story, in their own words. Life Story is the full digital edition, to read and share online. Memoir adds one casebound hardback with full-colour photos, printed and bound in the UK. Heirloom is the premium keepsake – one Smyth Sewn hardback with a ribbon marker and endpapers in a colour you choose. The digital edition is included in every tier.

What does it cost?

Chronicle starts at £99 for Life Story – the complete digital edition in full colour, with every feature, to read and share. Memoir is £199 and adds a casebound hardback with full-colour photos throughout. Heirloom is £399, a premium Smyth Sewn hardback with a ribbon marker and endpapers in a colour you choose. All prices are a one-off payment with no subscription.

Does AI write the story?

The interviewer is AI – it asks the questions and drafts each chapter from what they actually said. But it never writes the story for them: it invents nothing, every chapter is built from their own answers, and they refine and approve every page before anything is printed.

How long does it take?

Most people complete a Chronicle over three months to a year – thirteen guided conversations, one chapter at a time, at their own pace. There is no deadline and no subscription clock. Pause whenever they need to; pick up where they left off.

What if my parent is not comfortable with technology?

Chronicle is designed for people who aren’t comfortable with technology. It works on any phone or tablet, in the browser – no app to download. They choose a password when they start, and after that they can sign back in with a link sent to their email. Sessions are gentle, unhurried, and easy to pause and return to.

What if they want to stop halfway through?

The storyteller (or whoever commissioned the Chronicle on their behalf) can mark the final chapters as not-needed from the book settings, and the finished book is made from the chapters that are complete. Heirloom customers get one-to-one support from us to help with this if it’s wanted.

Where is the book printed?

Printed editions are made and bound in the UK. Memoir is a casebound hardback; Heirloom uses Smyth Sewn binding. Both are 148 × 210mm (A5). Life Story is a digital edition – upgrade to Memoir or Heirloom for a printed book.

What happens to the data?

It belongs to the storyteller and the person who commissioned it. It’s hosted in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest, and we never use it to train AI. You can export every word, or delete every word, at any time.