A book of their life, to give as a gift: Who was Grandma's best friend at nineteen?
Give her the questions. She writes, or simply talks, and her answers become a book, word for word.
From $49, one payment · Their gift can arrive by email Christmas morning, even if you buy on the 24th
Paid once, nothing renews · Full refund until it's redeemed · Sales tax is added where your state applies it, and you see the total before you pay.
Photo covers
Made with old photos from our founder's family, with permission. Names are made up.
- a life told
word for wordLinda Morgan1951h 
Eleanor Price1943a life told word for wordh- Margaret Hale1944a life told word for word
- Joan Whitaker1941a life told
word for wordh - a life told
word for word
Dorothy Byrne1938h - Nancy Ellison1946a life told
word for wordh
1 of 8
Three ways to give it
By email, today.
It goes out as soon as you've paid.
By email, on the day you choose.
Christmas, a birthday, Mother's Day: it goes out that morning, US time.
A card to give by hand.
Print it tonight and put it in an envelope. The code is on the card.
How it works
You send it today. An email on the day you pick, or a card you print tonight. Nothing to ship.
They answer at their own pace. Typing, or just talking into the phone. No app, no account, no password.
Their answers become a book. Chapters, a contents page and a cover with their name, typeset as a PDF to print anywhere. Twenty-one answers already make a whole book.
word for wordHelen Brooks1946h
Tell me about your father. What was he like? — My father worked at the quarry from the time he was seventeen until his back gave out. He came home grey — the dust got into everything, his hair, the creases of his hands.
Eight chapters, a question from each
Word for word, from the book they'll answer. The ones marked optional can be skipped.
I. Where I come from
“What story did your family tell over and over?”
II. Childhood
“What did you play, and who with?”
III. Growing up
“What were you like at seventeen?”
IV. Love · optional
“How did you meet? Tell me about that day.”
V. Work · optional
“Tell me about something you made or did that came out well.”
VI. The family I made · optional
“Tell me about the day your first child was born.”
VII. Places
“Of all the homes you have lived in, which one do you miss?”
VIII. What I've learned
“What would you like people to remember about you?”
Who it's for
word for wordHelen Brooks1946h
Helen Brooks1946a life told word for wordhWhat's included
- Their book, typeset as a PDF, to print wherever they like
- Their voice: if they answer by talking, the recordings are theirs to download
- Their photos in each chapter, and a cover with their photo if they like
- No app, no account, no password
- Changed your mind? Until the code is redeemed, we refund you in full, no questions asked, up to 90 days after you pay.
Sales tax is added where your state applies it, and you see the total before you pay.
Choose the hardcover or the digital book, then write their name and check the box to continue.
You pay by card. Paddle handles the payment, so that's the name on your bank statement.
One single payment. We'll show you the code as soon as you're done.
Not yet?
We'll remind you before Christmas
Leave your email and we'll write once, on December 9, to remind you about Heirleaf before Christmas. Just one email, and then we delete your address.
Finnela Life, S.L. (Heirleaf) uses your address only for this. First we email you to confirm it's yours; until you do, we won't write. Our emails carry no tracking: we don't know whether you open them. Unsubscribe in one click from the email itself, or write to hello@heirleaf.com, where you can also see, correct or delete your data. How we use it
Why it works
They can talk instead of type.
We write it down, and they check it before it goes in.
You won't read what they write.
That's what lets them be honest.
No rush.
The code doesn't expire, and reminders come once a week at most.
Changed your mind?
Full refund until the code is redeemed, up to 90 days.
Giving it on Christmas Eve, or on the day itself
Pick the date and we email them their link that morning: in December, at 10 a.m. Eastern, 7 a.m. Pacific. If you pick today and that hour has already passed, it goes out as soon as you've paid.
Or print the card tonight and put it in an envelope. The code is on it, and it works the moment they type it in. Nothing has to be shipped, so even on Christmas Eve it still arrives in time.
A last-minute gift: how it arrivesQuestions about giving it
Can I see the card and the email?
The card you print and the email we send them, exactly as they look. You choose how it reaches them: the card, the email or both. Both carry the same code.
heirleaf
A life, word for word
For Margaret
“For all the stories you tell at Sunday lunch.”
Linda
Your code
ABCDE-12345
heirleaf.com/redeem
Or point your phone's camera here: it opens with the code already in.
A book of your life, written or told by you. Go to the address above, type in the code and start whenever you like. There is no account and no password, and it's paid for. The code doesn't expire, and the book is yours for good.
- From
- Heirleaf <hello@heirleaf.com>
- Subject
- Linda has given you a book
heirleaf
Margaret,
Linda has given you a book of your life, written or told by you. It's paid for: nobody will ask you for money or a password.
“For all the stories you tell at Sunday lunch.”
Linda
You answer questions about your life, by writing or by speaking, at whatever pace suits you. Twenty-one answers are already a whole book, with its chapters and its contents page, and you download it as a PDF to print wherever you like.
If the button doesn't work, go to heirleaf.com/redeem and type in this code: ABCDE-12345
What you write is yours. Whoever gave it to you will not see a single word of it: not your answers, not how far along you are.
Then they tap the button, or type the code at heirleaf.com/redeem, and answer their first question. No account and no password.
And you get the code on screen as soon as you have paid, and by email too, with the link back to the card: if you close the page, nothing is lost.
Do they need a computer?
No, a phone is enough, and they can talk instead of typing. Someone can sit with them the first time; after that they can carry on alone.
More questions people ask us
What if they never finish?
Every answer is already part of the book. Twenty-one answers make a whole book; six make a shorter one, typeset just the same, with its contents page and its cover.
Will I know if they've started?
Only whether the code has been redeemed, on the page where you got it. Nothing else: not their answers, and not how far along they are.
Can it be printed and bound?
Yes. If you choose the hardcover, it's already paid for: when they finish, they choose the cover, a photo and an address in the US or Spain, and we print it and mail it, about 28 days after they order it. With the digital book only, they get a typeset PDF to print anywhere, and they can still order a hardcover from us.
How printing works
Who are you?
A small company in Barcelona, Finnela Life, S.L. Payment goes through Paddle, so that's the name on your bank statement.
About Heirleaf
How is this different from Storyworth?
Heirleaf is paid once, with nothing to renew and no year to finish in, and nobody rewrites a word of the answers. We've set the options out side by side, checked against each company's own pages.
Storyworth alternatives with no subscription
Give it today. They start whenever.
Sales tax is added where your state applies it, and you see the total before you pay. · Nothing renews · Full refund until the code is redeemed, up to 90 days.
Questions to warm them up
Free lists of questions, to ask over the phone or at the table before the gift arrives.
Is it for you? The first three questions are free.
Try 3 questions freeHas someone given you one?
Redeem your code