Gathered Lives

A Legacy Collection

WHY YOUR STORY MATTERS

A family photograph can tell us who was there. A personal account can tell us why the moment mattered.

Your life holds experiences that others may know only in fragments—your childhood, work, military service, family traditions, decisions, hardships, and the people who helped shape you. You may have shared some of those memories often. Others may still be waiting for someone to ask.

You do not have to consider yourself an author to have something worth preserving. Everyday experiences can help future generations understand how you lived, what you faced, and why you made the choices you did.

Gathered Lives: A Legacy Collection helps individuals preserve selected life stories in a published book. You may be thinking about your own story, or hoping to help a parent, grandparent, or another loved one share theirs.

What might your story preserve that no one else can tell in quite the same way?

HOW WE HELP YOU TELL IT

You may have memories you want to share but feel unsure where to begin. Guided conversations give you a place to start, helping you recall the people, experiences, decisions, and everyday details that shaped your life.

Together, we identify the stories you want the book to hold. We help develop those accounts into a readable narrative from your own perspective, preserving your voice and the meaning you want to communicate.

You take part in reviewing and clarifying the manuscript. You can identify details that need correction, explain something more fully, and help us understand what matters to you. You review and approve the manuscript before publication.

Each book carries its author’s name and chosen title. It stands independently within Gathered Lives: A Legacy Collection, giving families a book they can read, keep, and share with future generations.

YOUR LEGACY BOOK PACKAGE

$1,199 plus applicable sales tax

The package includes:

• Four guided interview sessions, with up to 280 counted interview minutes in total. The agreement explains how breaks and reasonable accommodations are handled.

• Development of up to 24,000 words of selected life-story narrative.

• Three combined staff hours of selected historical research and verification.

• Up to twelve black-and-white interior photographs and a separate back-cover portrait.

• Two manuscript review rounds, cover and interior preparation, and production-proof approval.

• One 6 × 9 paperback edition prepared for KDP and IngramSpark.

• Six finished copies of your legacy book and one printed copy of Abigail Lawrence’s Why Our Stories Matter, Volume 1 of Gathered Lives: A Legacy Collection.

The complete agreement explains the project’s scope, payment schedule, rights, royalties, and delivery terms.

BEGIN WITH A CONVERSATION

Tell us whose story you hope to preserve and what you have in mind. You may already have photographs, notes, letters, or recordings. You may simply have memories you want someone to help you put into words.

We can discuss the guided conversations, available materials, and the work involved before you make a decision. This first conversation is an opportunity to ask questions and consider whether Gathered Lives fits what you hope to accomplish.

BRING THE CONVERSATION TO YOUR COMMUNITY

Perhaps you help others find opportunities to share their experiences. Abigail Lawrence’s presentation, Why Our Stories Matter, invites people to consider what their lives—and the lives of those they love—can preserve for future generations.

We welcome presentation inquiries from Senior Center Coordinators, Veteran Services Administrators and Coordinators, Church Program Directors, library staff, and others who arrange community programs.

Drawing from her book Why Our Stories Matter, Abigail explores what ordinary experiences preserve and what disappears when we postpone listening. She invites participants to consider their own stories and those of their parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends.

Memories of work, military service, caregiving, family traditions, hardship, and change can help future generations understand how people lived. By asking, listening, and recording honestly, we can become history keepers for our families and communities.

The presentation includes approximately 25 minutes of speaking and 10 minutes of audience questions. With the host’s permission, Abigail can also introduce Gathered Lives and explain how selected personal accounts can become a published book.

Tell us about your organization, where you meet, and the dates you are considering. We can discuss your audience and what you hope the presentation will offer your community.

Gathered Voices Publishing & Distribution, LLC
Idaho Falls, Idaho
208-538-4092
get-published@gathered-voices-publishing.com