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Books of My Life
Recreation: the night Peggy met Walter at the diner, 1959
Recreation · Sample

Reenactments

The moments no one photographed.

The night they met. The day he came home. Nobody had a camera, so we recreate the scene from what they remember.

Give the giftWatch the sample film

Film cost money. Cameras came out for Christmas and weddings. So the night your grandmother met your grandfather, nobody took a picture.

It only exists in one place: the way she tells it. We turn that telling into something the family can see.

Sample

Peggy’s reenactments

Five scenes with no photo, until now

Peggy Albright is our sample storyteller. Over a year of Sunday afternoons she told Wren about her life. These are five moments nobody photographed.

1945 What Peggy told Wren

Daddy comes home

Mama said the whole platform was crying. Daddy picked me up so high I could see over everybody’s hats, and I didn’t know who he was.

Before we made it, Wren asked

You were only four. Did your mother ever tell you what she wore to meet that train?
Her good flowered dress and the hat with the cloth roses. She'd been saving that dress all spring for him.
Recreation
Recreation: Peggy's father home from the war, 1945

1951 What Peggy told Wren

Winter nights by the radio

In winter we’d all crowd around the radio by the stove. I sat on the floor in my nightgown so I could be closest to the speaker.

Before we made it, Wren asked

Where was the radio, and where was everybody sitting?
On the little table by the stove. Daddy leaned in so close his nose about touched it. His hearing was never right after the war.
Recreation
Recreation: the farmhouse kitchen on a winter night, 1951

1959 What Peggy told Wren

The night Walt walked in

It was pouring rain and this tall boy came in soaked to the bone, glasses all fogged up, and ordered coffee, black, no sugar.

Before we made it, Wren asked

What were you wearing on shift that night?
That mint green uniform. Lord, I hated it. Walt said it was the first thing he noticed, so I forgave it.
Recreation
Recreation: the night Peggy met Walter at the diner, 1959

1962 What Peggy told Wren

Moon River at the VFW hall

They hung paper lanterns from the ceiling. When the band played Moon River, Walt stepped on my foot twice and whispered, ‘I’ll get better at this.’

Before we made it, Wren asked

What did the hall look like? Any decorations?
Paper lanterns all across the ceiling. My uncle Frank hung every one himself and two came down before we cut the cake!
Recreation
Recreation: the first dance at the VFW hall, 1962

1969 What Peggy told Wren

The night of the moon

Walt woke the kids up and we all sat on the carpet in our pajamas in front of the television. Anne fell asleep in my lap.

Before we made it, Wren asked

Were any lights on in the room, or just the TV?
Just the set. It turned all our faces blue. Walt kept pointing at the screen like the rest of us couldn't see it.
Recreation
Recreation: watching the moon landing in the living room, 1969

From story to scene

It starts with what they remember

Every scene starts from their own words. The family checks it before it’s final.

  1. 1

    They tell the story

    Wren asks a question by text or on the phone, and listens. The best moments usually come out sideways, halfway through another story. When one has no photo, Wren makes a note of it.

  2. 2

    We get the small things right

    Wren goes back for the details: the dress, the car, the song on the jukebox, who was standing where. Then we draft the scene, and you and the family tell us what’s off.

  3. 3

    We make the scene

    We produce the finished portraits for the book and the website, each one marked as a recreation. On Legacy, the scenes also become a short film.

Sample reenactment film · stills

Her life, the way she told it

On the Legacy plan, the scenes become a short film. This sample uses the stills from Peggy's story. Tap to pause.

Recreation: Peggy's father home from the war, 1945
Recreation · Sample01 / 05

1945

Daddy comes home

“Mama said the whole platform was crying. Daddy picked me up so high I could see over everybody’s hats, and I didn’t know who he was.”
Peggy, telling Wren

Real photos, restored

When there is a photo, we keep it real

Recreations are only for the moments no camera caught. The photos that did survive, we repair.

They snap a picture of the old print, or mail us the original, and we fix the fading, creases and tears. A restored photo stays a photo. A recreation is always marked as one. Nobody has to wonder which is which.

A damaged 1940s photo before restorationSample
Peggy’s parents, 1943. Straight out of the shoebox.
The same photo, restoredSample
The same print, restored.

In every plan

Reenactments come with both plans

Heirloom includes a portrait series. Legacy adds more portraits and the short film.

Heirloom

$399

6 reenactment portraits of moments never photographed

Their story, beautifully kept: the book, the website and a portrait series.

Legacy

$799

12 reenactment portraits and a short reenactment film

Everything, for the whole family: more books, their voice and a short film.

Give the gift Compare the plans