A woman in glasses and a light-colored outfit holds a colorful rooster-shaped cake, with a man holding a young girl in his arms, all smiling in a home setting with a window, curtains, and a lamp.
A black-and-white photo of a bride and groom smiling and walking through a tunnel of friends throwing rice or confetti. The bride is holding a bouquet, and both are dressed in wedding attire. Guests are on either side of the couple, celebrating.

Human-Made Memoirs

Built from Easy Interviews

A young woman with short dark hair smiling and sitting on a boat, with a lake and trees in the background, captured in a vintage black-and-white photo.
A group of five people, three women and two young boys, standing near a lake with mountains in the background. Two women are engaged in conversation, one with a red jacket and the other with a darker coat. The other woman and the boys are looking on. There are small boats on the lake and a sign on a post near the water.

Parents and other loved ones have stories that deserve to be remembered, including childhood adventures, hard-won wisdom, milestones, and quiet moments that shaped their life.

I work with your loved one to create informal or formal memoirs through interviews, capturing their stories in their voices now, before it’s too late, transforming our conversations into books that are treasured forever.

Your parents, partner, and cherished friends already hold a treasure trove of life stories and memories. I turn those stories into a beautifully written book that you’ll revisit forever.

Black and white photograph of a young girl with curly hair, wearing a collared dress, looking slightly upward with a thoughtful expression, with her hands clasped together.
“I wanted to write a memoir because my children urged me to write down all the stories I told them over the years.”
— Client

How It Works

I make the process simple and enjoyable:

  1. We talk. A friendly, guided conversation about who and what you want the memoir to be about and how long you’d like it to be.

  2. I interview you or your loved one. Whether you want to focus on a milestone, relationship, or a lifetime of stories, we can decide on the number of interviews (1-10) that works best for your project.

  3. I write the memoir. You relax and wait while I organize and edit the memoir. You receive a polished, beautifully crafted narrative that stays true to your voice.

  4. Gift copies of the memoir to your loved one(s). Celebrate, share, and treasure the memoir forever.

Clients say the interviews themselves become part of their favorite memories.

Some clients know exactly what they want to include in a memoir while others have a more general idea. Regardless, as we go through the interview process, I constantly observe the following:

  • My clients, regardless of age and experiences, enjoy the rare opportunity to talk about themselves. They are the subject matter experts on their life and get to have the spotlight.

  • I’ve had clients who, upon starting the memoir process with me, believed that they didn’t have an interesting life. This attitude quickly changes after a few interview sessions as they reflect back on their life with me.

  • Clients suddenly remember new stories and memories as they go through interviews. I believe that talking about your life with someone, rather than writing about your life, better enables this.

“It’s been fun being able to just talk about myself. I love to talk and there’s so many memories coming back to me. It’s awesome.”
— Client

Why families and friends choose memoirs

A memoir is more than a book. It’s:

  • A gift your family will pass down for generations

  • A way to honor and celebrate someone you love

  • A chance to preserve memories before they fade

  • A meaningful project that brings families, partners, and friends closer

An elderly man with white hair and glasses holding a young girl with light brown hair, both smiling and outdoors with blurred green foliage in the background.
Start Preserving Memories Today
A man with gray hair and glasses, dressed in a blue jacket, demonstrates a craft to a group of children and a woman. The children and woman are gathered around a table with bowls and gingerbread decorations, possibly decorating gingerbread houses. The setting appears to be a cozy kitchen or dining area, decorated for the holidays.

Which Option Fits Your Memoir Goals?

Full Memoir

A complete life story built from 10-12 hours of interviews, told with depth, nuance, and care.

Perfect for: parents, grandparents, and families wanting an in-depth record of a loved one’s life.

Life Novella

A shorter version of a full memoir, where your life story is built from 4-6 hours of interviews.

Perfect for: parents, grandparents, or anyone with rich life chapters who may not want to commit to a full memoir.

Story Booklet

A short, heartfelt keepsake capturing memories tied to a specific milestone or person over the course of a 60-90 minute interview.

Perfect for: birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day, anniversaries, retirements, or other milestone moments.

Interview Add-Ons

You always have the option to add more interviews as you go along.

Contact Me for a Free 15 Minute Consultation

What Clients Around the Bay Area Are Saying

“I can’t say enough about Katlin. If it was not for all her help and expertise and dedication to writing, I would still be writing”— Louie, Emerald Hills

“Katlin is very easy to work with and patient. I would recommend her services to anyone who is considering documenting their life stories”— Susan, San Francisco

“It has been recommended to me by my friends to write about life. Katlin is an excellent listener who made sure all the details were correct.” — Alexander, Daly City.

Front cover of a client's memoir. Black and white photo of seven young adults outdoors in a wooded area, some standing and some kneeling, dressed in casual clothing.

Cover of former client’s memoir, titled “Meet me at the Greens”

Photo from a client's memoir. Black and white photograph of a young child wearing a hat, with a brick wall in the background. The photo caption reads: "Me at Six Years Old."

First chapter of former client’s memoir.

A Full Memoir A Full Memoir
A Full Memoir
$2,900.00

A full collection of life stories, memories, family history, or other topics of interest built from 10 - 12 hours of interviews.

  • 50+ hours dedicated to transcribing, editing, and organizing memoir content

  • Photo integration is included (recommend 30 - 60 photos)

  • You receive a soft-cover book, 80+ pages, audio from the interviews, and a digital copy of the memoir to print copies or add to in the future.

(In)Formal Memoir Services

A Life Novella A Life Novella
A Life Novella
$1,500.00

A shorter collection of life stories, memories, family history, or other topics of interest built from 5-6 hours of interviews.

  • 25+ hours dedicated to transcribing, editing, and organizing interview content.

  • Photo integration is included (recommend 15-20 photos).

  • You receive a softcover novella of life stories, 30 - 50 pages, audio files of our interviews, and a digital copy of the memoir to print additional copies or add to in the future.

A Story Booklet
A Story Booklet
$350.00

A mini collection of memories and reflections built from 60 - 90 minutes of interview content with you and/or a loved one on a specific person or milestone, including: the birthday of a child, parent, or friend; an anniversary; Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

  • 5+ hours dedicated to editing interview content

  • Photo integration is included (3 - 10 photos).

  • You receive a booklet, 5-10 pages long, an audio files of the interview, and a digital version of the booklet for printing more copies or adding more content in the future.

Let's Get Started
A woman with long, curly hair wearing glasses and smiling indoors with white walls and a window with blinds in the background.

Why Work With Me

I’m Katlin Kane, a writer based in the Bay Area, specializing in memoir interviewing and narrative craft. I bring warmth, curiosity, and structure to every conversation, helping people feel comfortable sharing their stories, even if they’re shy or unsure of where to begin.

Your loved one doesn’t need to be a “good storyteller.” They just need to show up. I take care of the rest.

If you’re looking for a meaningful, personal gift—this is it!

Whether you want to preserve your memories or a loved one’s memories, memoirs make extraordinary gifts for:

  • Mother’s Day & Father’s Day

  • Birthdays (celebrating a child, parent, or friend)

  • Engagements & Anniversaries

  • Retirements

  • New parents

  • Grandparents

  • Weddings

Contact Me for a Free Consultation

P.S. Do you work with people in the Bay Area who would benefit from workshops on creating a loved one’s memoir? If so, I’d love to partner with you.

Workshops focus on the power of recording someone’s life stories in addition to the step-by-step process for interviewing loved ones and turning interview content into clear, organized prose. I’d specifically love to work with the following organizations:

  • Assisted Living or Retirement Communities

  • Libraries

  • High Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

    1. Consultation: Whether you want to create a memoir or you want your loved one to create a memoir, we will discuss the topics you would like to cover, a plan for asking your loved one to create a memoir, a plan for doing interviews, and how involved you would like to be in the process.

    2. List of Questions: I create a list of questions and share them with you and your loved one ahead of each interview session.

    3. Interviews: I interview your loved one—in-person, by phone, or online—with each interview lasting approximately 60 minutes. Interviews tend to yield richer responses and be far easier and more enjoyable for loved ones compared to the typical memoir-writing process, requiring less time and energy that is associated with sitting by yourself to write or answer prompts by email or journal. Some projects entail a single interview while others may require up to ten interviews, with the option of adding on interviews as you go.

    4. Editing: After interviews, I carefully transcribe, edit, and organize interview content so that stories are clear, engaging, and ready to be printed. I also incorporate photos—anywhere from 5 - 60 photos—so that life stories and memories shine.

    5. Print: At the end of this process, you and your loved one receive a copy of the memoir in printed form, whether it is a 5 page booklet or a 100 page book. You will also receive audio files with the interviews so your loved one’s voice is also preserved forever as well as a PDF version of the memoir to make copies and share with family and friends to treasure forever.

    6. Gift your memoir and celebrate!

    7. Bonus: You can always add to the memoir each year or after any number of years. We simply do more interviews, and I update the memoir with the new content, or we create a separate standalone memoir booklet or book.

  • Wonderful! Together we’ll create a plan for asking your loved one to create their memoir, the kinds of questions or topics you want us to cover, and how involved you would like to be in the process!

  • Not a problem! We can do interviews by phone or Zoom and still provide that warm, human interview experience.

  • During our consultation, we can plan an approach for asking your loved one to create a memoir.

  • Milestone memoirs (ie. celebrating retirement or a wedding anniversary or mother’s day) entail one 90 minute interview, while a full memoir capturing a lifetime of stories entails 8 or more interviews (approximately 10 - 12 hours of content). You can always add on more interviews if needed!

  • Milestone memoirs can take as little as a weekend, while full lifetime memoirs can take 3 - 6 months.

  • Milestone memoirs might be 5 - 10 pages in length, while full-length memoirs capturing a lifetime of stories might be 80 pages or more.

  • Interviews range from 60 - 90 minutes long.