The Glow Editors

The Glow Editors are the team behind Glow, your family's living story in one private place. We write warm, practical guides for every part of a family's story: saving the little years, helping a parent tell their life, keeping a grandparent's real voice, looking after the family's photos and heirlooms, and remembering someone well after they die. Every how-to is checked against the provider's own documentation.

Articles by The Glow Editors

How to Make a Family Cookbook From Heirloom Recipes: From Stained Cards to a Printed Book — Turn recipe cards, scribbled notes and kitchen know-how into a family cookbook. Cook with the cook, measure the handfuls, keep the story, test every page and print something your relatives will use.
How to Date an Old Photograph: Clues You Can Check at Home, and an Honest Range — The type of print, the studio, the clothes and the people who remember each narrow the date. A home method that ends in a range with its evidence, not a guess dressed up as a year.
How to Organize Digital Photos by Family, Not by Date: Shelves, File Names and Captions — Phones sort photos by day, but families remember people, branches and places. A one-afternoon setup for family shelves, plain file names, captions and backups that outlast any app.
Memory Box for Someone Who Died: What to Put In, and How to Begin — A memory box gives a scarf, a recipe card or a ticket stub somewhere to rest. What to include, how to attach a story to each thing, how to make one with a child, and how to look after it.
Celebration of Life Ideas: Planning a Gathering That Feels Like Them — Ideas for the place, the people, the food and the small rituals of a celebration of life, three sizes to choose from, and honest advice on keeping it simple and affordable.
Eulogy for a Father or Mother: A Four-Part Frame, Two Short Examples and Honest Advice — A frame you can fill in, two short examples, how long to speak, what to do if the relationship was difficult, and how to get through the reading.
How to Write a Letter to a Loved One Who Died: A Gentle Guide for Any Kind of Relationship — A letter to someone who has died can say thank you, say sorry, report the news or simply say their name. Ways to begin, what to do with the page afterwards, and when to put it down.
Grief Journal Prompts: Gentle Places to Start, for Any Kind of Day — Short prompts for the first days, for remembering, for what went unsaid, and for hard dates. No rules about length, handwriting or how often, and permission to stop at any point.
What to Say to Someone Who Lost a Parent: Words for the Call, the Text and the Weeks After — Your friend's mother or father has died and you cannot find a sentence. Short lines for the first call, what to avoid, how to help, and how to keep showing up.
How to Write an Obituary That Sounds Like Them: Facts First, Then the Person — A plain way to write an obituary: check the facts, choose two or three details only they could own, decide what to leave out, and fit the length to where it will run.
What to Write in a Sympathy Card: Short Messages, Honest Examples and What to Leave Out — A sympathy card can be a few plain lines. A simple shape, examples for different relationships, words to avoid, and why a second note weeks later may matter most.
How to Preserve Family Memories: Photos, Letters, Tapes, Recipes and the Stories Behind Them — One order of work for a family archive: pick a small batch, gather what relatives hold, digitize by type, add names and stories, make copies, keep the originals, and share.
Grief on Anniversaries and Holidays: A Guide to the Days That Return — Birthdays, death dates and holidays can bring grief back to the surface. Ideas for planning the day, naming the person, leaving early and supporting each other, without any single right way.
Before the Power of Attorney: The Conversation That Makes It Easier — The power of attorney conversation goes better when you ask what matters to your parent first and bring the paperwork second - on an ordinary day, with local rules checked before anyone signs.
How to Interview a Grandparent: Preparing, Asking, Recording and Keeping the Stories — A complete plan for sitting down with a grandparent: asking permission, setting up a phone, choosing questions, following up, handling hard moments and keeping the file safe.
Digital Legacy: A Guide for Families, From Locked Phones to Saved Voices — What a digital legacy holds, the official routes Apple, Google, Microsoft and password managers allow, and how to save the meaning behind the files as well as the files.
Grandparent Interview Project: One Short Sitting, Then a One-Page Profile — A school note asks for a grandparent interview, and nobody knows where to begin. A twenty-minute plan with a recorded yes, then a one-page profile built from their own words.
Día de los Muertos Ofrenda: How to Place Photos and Stories Beside the Candles — A photograph shows a face, and a story shows the person. How families weave both into an ofrenda, and how to take part with respect if the tradition is not yours.
Before Anything Happens: Sorting Out a Parent's Accounts and Digital Wishes — While everyone is well, list a parent's accounts, set up Apple, Google and Facebook's own access tools, ask what they want done with each, and give the photos a home - no shared passwords needed.
Questions to Ask Your Grandfather: A Ten-Minute Sitting for a Man of Few Words — Some grandfathers answer a big question with a shrug. This page offers one short sitting built on objects, places and small how-questions, with a kind way to stop.
Slideshow, Short Film or Photo Frame? How to Show Family Photos at a Gathering — A slideshow, a short film or a photo frame - how to choose the right way to show family photos at a birthday, reunion or memorial, and how to pull it off with a day to go.
How to Digitise Home Movies: VHS, Hi8 and 8mm, by Post or at Home — Videotape plays back in real time. Film has to be scanned. Sorting the box into those two piles first decides your route, your price and how long this takes.
Life Story Gifts for Parents and Grandparents: Six Routes, Compared Honestly — Written subscriptions, services that telephone her, journals, digitising kits and doing it yourself. What each one charges in 2026, what it does not include, and which parent each suits.
StoryWorth Cost in 2026: The Price, What It Covers, and What It Quietly Does Not — Three tiers, one book included, and a set of extras that catch families out at printing. The current prices, the voice question most reviews skip, and what the money cannot buy.
Recording Family History on Your Phone: Consent, Setup, and File Names That Outlive You — The recording is the easy part. What families actually lose is the context: who was speaking, when, and who the woman called Auntie Vi was. Here is the five-minute fix.
Father's Day 2027: His Stories in His Own Voice, Without Making It an Interview — Ask a father how something felt and you get four words. Ask what he actually did and you get four minutes. Five beliefs that stop people trying, and what to do instead.
Mother's Day 2027: Start the Memory Gift Now So It Is Ready on 9 May — The only Mother's Day gift that cannot be bought in the last week is the one made of her own answers. Five beliefs that stop people starting, and what the services really cost.
What Is a Digital Legacy? Five Things People Believe, and What the Providers Actually Say — A digital legacy is every account, photograph, message and recording a person leaves behind. Five common beliefs about it, checked against Apple's and Google's own help pages.
How to Help With a School Roots Project Without Doing It for Them — Your child has a roots project (עבודת שורשים) or family-history project due. Here's how to set up the conversations, help them ask good questions, and still let it be their work.
Legacy Questions for Parents: 32 to Choose From, and Why You Should Ask Five — Life-story questions collect the events. Legacy questions ask what he made of them. Thirty-two to pick from, in four groups, with the follow-up that gets the second half of the answer.
80th Birthday Gift Ideas From the Grandchildren, Sorted by How Old the Giver Is — At eighty the scarce thing is not another object, it is close attention. Ideas a five-year-old, a teenager and a grown grandchild can each give, and what to do with what they collect.
How to Record a Parent Who Doesn't Like Being Recorded — Most parents who hate being recorded are worried about something specific. Find out what, give them control, and make the phone the least important thing in the room.
What to Ask Your Grandparents: Questions for Each Stretch of Her Life — Open questions get shrugs. Dated ones get rooms, prices and names. About thirty-five questions to ask a grandparent, sorted by the decades she actually lived.
The First Holidays After a Death: Five Beliefs That Decide How the Day Goes — Five things families believe about the first holiday after a death, set beside what bereavement services actually suggest, with a small version of each you can try.
A Parent's Google Photos and iCloud After They Die: What You Can Actually Get — Whether you can reach a parent's cloud photographs depends on a setting they chose years ago. Here is each company's sanctioned route, the deadlines nobody warns you about, and what to do first.
Hanukkah Gifts for Grandparents: Eight Nights, Eight Questions — Instead of another parcel, give your grandparents eight short conversations: one question beside the candles each night, recorded with their permission, and kept.
Questions to Ask Your Grandparents as an Adult: 40, With the Follow-Ups That Get the Story — Forty questions for grown grandchildren to ask their grandparents, from childhood to advice, each group with the follow-up that turns a short answer into the story behind it.
Digital Legacy Checklist: Six Settings and One Sheet of Paper — A digital legacy checklist you can finish in one sitting: the Apple and Google settings that create a sanctioned route, the services that offer none, and the single page that tells your family where to look.
The Gift of Family Memories: Six Presents You Can Finish This Week — Six memory gifts a family can actually finish before the holidays, from a question written on a card to a recording passed round the table, and how to choose between them.
Recording a Parent's Wishes Before a Health Crisis: 32 Questions to Ask — Thirty-two open questions for a parent about comfort, care, people and what she wants kept, asked on an ordinary afternoon rather than in a waiting room.
Thanksgiving Interview Questions: Ten Minutes With a Grandparent at the Table — The exact questions, timed, for one short recording on Thanksgiving. What to say when she says she cannot remember, and what to do with the file before bed.
Keeping a Grandparent Present for Children Who Barely Knew Them — Small, repeated things work best: a few stories told often, their photos at a child's eye level, their recipes cooked together, and relatives' memories gathered in one place.
One Story From Everyone: A Milestone Birthday Gift of Family Memories — Ask every relative for one small memory and give her the whole set. How to make the ask, the prompts that unstick people, and a six-week run-up.
Veterans History Project: How to Participate and Submit a Relative's Interview — The Library of Congress accepts interviews recorded by families. What it asks for, what it will not send back, and the local route most people never hear about.
A Legacy Letter for a Blended Family: What to Write to All Your Children — A will divides property. It cannot tell a stepchild they were loved the same. Four rules, a six-line template, and where the letter sits beside the paperwork.
How to Interview a Veteran Who Does Not Want to Talk About Service — Begin with the food, the friends and the first year home, never with the fighting. Questions by theme, what to say into a silence, and how to make no an easy answer.
Sharing Old Family Photos With Siblings Without a Fight Over the Originals — Nobody has to lose the picture, because a picture can be in four houses at once. A method for the prints, agreed before anyone opens the box.
Veteran Interview Questions: One Ten-Minute Sitting for Veterans Day — A single ten-minute conversation, timed question by question, with the exact wording, what to say if it goes quiet, and how to leave an easy way out.
How to Save a Parent's Voicemails After They Die, Before the Line Closes — A short message can hold the last of a voice. Here is how to get one off a handset and into a file you own, and why the carrier's deletion date matters more than the phone.
Getting Into a Parent's Phone After They Die: What Works, and What to Save First — The handset is rarely the way in. Here is what Apple and Google will actually do, which copies to hunt for first, and the one mistake that destroys everything.
Five Phones, One Life: How to Gather a Parent's Photos From the Whole Family — Your mother's pictures are scattered across six pockets and a biscuit tin. Here is a calm way to pull them into one place, with a named keeper and a copy you own.
Making a Family Tree With Kids: Faces First, Dates Later — Start with photos of the people your child already loves, add one generation at a time, and attach a story to every face. Names and dates can come later.
The First Birthday After a Death: Ways to Remember Together — There's no right way to spend the first birthday after someone dies. Here are gentle ways to plan, mark it together or quietly, and look after each other.
Recording Your Child's Voice at Every Age: A Simple Yearly Ritual — Once a year, on the same day, ask your child the same few questions and record five minutes on your phone. Label it, keep two copies, and play last year's back.
Who's in This Photo? 7 Family Games for Kids and Grandparents — Seven easy games that use family photos to teach kids faces, names and stories, with exact questions to ask and ideas for grandparents near and far.
A Baby Memory Book That Actually Gets Filled In — Most baby books stall by month four. A memory book that gets filled is one you can add to in ten seconds, from your phone, with the whole family helping.
How to Gather Everyone's Memories of Someone Before the Funeral — Send one short message with three specific questions to family and friends, give a clear deadline, and collect every reply, photo and voice note in one place.
How to Teach Kids Family History Without a Lecture — Skip the lecture and play instead: guess-who with old photos, objects with a story, and short questions kids get to ask the grown-ups themselves.
The Things Kids Say: How to Keep Them Before You Forget — Write it down or record it the same day, with the date, the child's age and what prompted it. Keep everything in one place you'll actually open again.
Scan Old Photos Yourself or Send Them Away? An Honest Comparison — Deciding whether to scan old photos yourself or use a scanning service comes down to volume, condition, and how much of the process you want to be part of - here is an honest comparison to help you choose.
How to Photograph Family Heirlooms So the Story Stays Attached — To photograph family heirlooms with their story attached, you need a phone, a window, and two minutes of someone talking - here is exactly how to do it.
How Many Photos Does It Take to Tell a Life? Picking the Few That Carry the Story — Wondering how many photos to tell a life story? A handful per decade - chosen well - will carry the story further than a thousand unedited prints ever could.
A Retirement Gift for Dad: Record the Story of His Working Life — The best retirement gift ideas for dad aren't found in a shop - they're found by asking him, on record, to tell you about his working life before the chapter closes.
80th Birthday Gift Ideas That Celebrate the Life, Not Just the Number — The best 80th birthday gift ideas don't end up in a drawer - they start conversations, preserve voices, and leave something the whole family is still grateful for twenty years later.
How to Record a Parent's Life Story When They Don't Use Technology — You can record a parent's life story without technology on their side - all it takes is your phone on the kitchen table and the right questions written down the night before.
Why Your Parent Won't Talk About the Past, and What Actually Helps — Why elderly parents don't talk about the past - and the small, practical shifts that actually open the conversation.
Recording a Parent's Stories in Their First Language, for Grandchildren Who Don't Speak It — A plain, step-by-step guide to recording a parent's stories in their first language - so grandchildren can hear the voice, the feeling, and the words that belong to no other person.
Voice Notes From the Grandchildren: A Gift That Takes Ten Minutes and Lasts for Years — A voice note collection from every grandchild is one of the most personal gift ideas for grandparents from grandchildren - here's how to make one with about ten minutes of your own time.
Found an Old Obituary or Wedding Notice? How to Turn a Newspaper Clipping Into a Family Story — Found an old newspaper clipping in a relative's papers? Here's how to handle, photograph, and research it so the family story behind it doesn't disappear.
If You Had Ten Minutes: Protecting Family Photos From Floods, Fires and Moves — How to protect old photos from floods, fires, moves, and slow fading - starting with ten minutes and a sealed plastic box.
Old Letters, Clippings and Photos as Memory Joggers: Getting Grandparents Talking — Old photos, letters, and newspaper clippings work as memory prompts for elderly relatives because the object does the asking - here's how to use them to get grandparents talking.
Map Her Life: The Places Your Grandmother Lived, and the Story at Each One — One of the most moving family history project ideas costs nothing: map every place your grandmother lived, sit with her at each pin, and ask four simple questions.
What Did They Do All Day? Questions to Ask Grandparents About Their Working Life — The questions to ask grandparents about their life that actually work - starting with work itself, because relatives who won't talk about feelings will talk about a bad boss for an hour.
The House They Grew Up In: 25 Questions That Open a Whole Childhood — One house, walked through room by room, can open a whole childhood - here are 25 questions to ask parents and grandparents about where they grew up, and how to save what they tell you.
Who Is in This Photo? Identifying Unknown Faces in Old Family Photos — A practical guide to identifying unknown people in old family photos - starting with the relatives who were there and working outward before memory fades.
The Second Question Matters More Than the First: How to Ask a Good Follow-Up — Follow-up questions are where family stories actually live - here's how to ask them so people keep talking.
Family Story Night: A Simple Way to Get Grandparents Talking at Dinner — A family story night is the simplest way to get grandparents talking - one theme, one question card, and a regular dinner you already have.
Family Heirloom Stories: How to Record the Story Behind the Candlesticks Before It's Lost — Family heirloom stories live in the person holding the object - here is how to record them before the moment passes, in seven practical steps.
Questions to Ask Grandparents: 30 Kids Can Ask (and Why the Answers Surprise Everyone) — Thirty questions for kids to ask grandparents - organised by theme, designed to open real conversations, and easy to record on a phone.
90th Birthday Ideas: A Gift the Whole Family Makes Together — The best 90th birthday gift ideas aren't bought - they're gathered from the people who know them best, one story and one photo at a time.
How to Talk to Aging Parents About Their Life, Without Talking About Dying — Talking to aging parents about their lives doesn't have to feel morbid - here's how to start the conversation naturally, one question at a time.
Questions to Ask a Veteran Parent or Grandparent About Their Military Service, Gently — A gentle guide to the questions to ask a veteran parent or grandparent - covering why they served, daily life, coming home, and what they want remembered, before those stories are gone.
Anniversary Gift Ideas for Parents: Record How They Met, in Their Own Words — The most meaningful anniversary gift ideas for parents start not with shopping, but with recording how they met - in their own voices, with all the details only they remember.
Should You Animate Old Family Photos With AI? What's Real and What Isn't — AI tools that animate old photos generate movement that was never filmed - here's what to trust, what to label, and what to do instead for your family archive.
How to Talk About the Past With a Parent Who Has Dementia, and Record What They Share — Recording stories with a parent who has dementia doesn't require a script or special equipment - just a quiet moment, one open question, and a way to save what they say.
Sympathy Gift Ideas: What to Give a Grieving Family Instead of Flowers — The best sympathy gift ideas do one thing: they acknowledge the person who died by name and offer something the grieving family actually needs - here are eight that do both.
What Is an Ethical Will? How to Pass Down What Matters, Not What You Own — An ethical will is a letter or recording that passes down your values, lessons, and stories - not your property - and you can start one this week without a lawyer or a plan.
How to Save WhatsApp Voice Notes From Someone You Love, Before They're Lost — A calm, step-by-step guide to saving WhatsApp voice notes from someone you love - before a reset phone or deleted chat takes their voice away forever.
Songs for a Memorial Slideshow: How to Choose Music That Sounds Like Them — Choosing songs for a memorial slideshow means matching music to memory - here's how to find something that genuinely sounds like them.
Meaningful Gifts for Grandparents: Why the Best One Is a Question — The most meaningful gift for grandparents isn't something you can order - it's a question asked while they can still answer, and a recording that keeps their voice exactly as it sounds right now.
How Long Should One Storytelling Sitting Be? One Question, Ten Minutes, or Until They Stop — One question, handled well, is a complete oral history interview sitting - here is how to know when to start, when to stop, and how to make it last.
The Will Covers the House. Who Keeps the Photos? — Dividing family photos after a parent dies is a job no will covers - here is a calm, fair way to scan everything first, share copies with everyone, and let each sibling choose the originals that matter most to them.
A Bar or Bat Mitzvah Gift From the Grandparents: Their Stories, in Their Own Voices — The most meaningful bar or bat mitzvah gift from grandparents isn't bought - it's recorded: their stories, in their own words, before the moment passes.
How to Choose the Photos for a Memorial Slideshow When You Have Thousands — You don't need to look at every photo to build a memorial slideshow - decide how long it will run, sort by decade, and choose the pictures that show them living.