Your life, written as a memoir — in your own voice.
You tell the stories over a series of recorded conversations. A private biographer listens and writes; then we design and print the memoir for every branch of your family.
A memoir of your own
Told by the one person who lived it, and written down properly.
Many of the memoirs we write are commissioned by a son or daughter for a parent. This page is for the other way round: you want to tell your own life — the childhood house, the work, the crossing, the marriage, the reasons behind the choices your family now takes for granted — in your own words, for the people who come after you.
Some call the person who does this a memoir ghostwriter. We prefer private biographer, because most of the work is listening. Over a series of recorded conversations we draw the story out at your pace. Then we write, in your own words wherever we can, and you read and correct every chapter before anything is printed.
Our particular strength is the part of the story that began somewhere else. When your life, or your parents' lives, started in Hungary or Central Europe, you tell those chapters to someone who knows the places and the history you are talking about, and the memoir can be written in English or Hungarian. Where a name or a date needs checking, we can also look it up in the archives.
Everything between the first question and the printed memoir
One commission covers the conversations, the writing, and the memoir itself. You never have to coordinate a writer, a designer, and a printer.
The conversations
A series of recorded interviews, in person or by video, paced for you. The recordings and transcripts stay with you and your family.
The chapters
Written chapter by chapter from your interviews, in your own words wherever we can. You read and correct every draft before anything is printed.
The memoir
A hardcover memoir with your photographs and documents, designed and printed in as many copies as your family needs.
Four steps, at a pace that suits you
Other ways to keep the story
What people ask before they begin
How much does it cost?
Commissions begin at $10,000. The final figure depends on the number of conversations, any archive research the story needs, and the number of printed copies, and we agree it in writing before any work begins.
How long does it take?
Usually six to nine months from the first interview to the printed copies.
Where do the interviews take place?
Wherever you are most comfortable — at home in person, or by video call. We work with clients in the United States, the United Kingdom, and across Europe.
Is a private biographer the same as a ghostwriter?
Close. Both interview you and write your memoir in your voice. The difference is who it is for: ours are written for your family and never published. If you want a memoir to pitch to a publisher or sell, a ghostwriter is the better choice. How the options compare.
Who owns the recordings and the memoir?
You and your family do. We never publish, share, or reuse your story.
Which language is the memoir written in?
English or Hungarian — whichever your family will read.
Your story, told by the one person who lived it
A first conversation commits you to nothing. Tell us about your life, and we'll tell you how we would approach your memoir.
Reserve a first conversation