What to write in a memory book.
Most people know what they feel but freeze at the blank page. The trick is to write one specific moment, not a general tribute. Here is how to start, and a list of prompts to borrow.
Start with one moment
“You have always been so kind” is true but forgettable. “The night you drove two hours to pick me up and never mentioned it again” is a page people will reread. Choose a single scene and write it as if you were telling the person directly.
A short, honest entry of a few sentences is enough. There is room for longer letters too, but nobody needs to write an essay.
Prompts for anyone
- The first time we met was…
- The moment I knew I could count on you was…
- A small thing you do that most people never notice is…
- Something you taught me without meaning to…
- My favourite memory of the two of us is…
- When I think of you, I hear / smell / see…
- The funniest thing that ever happened around you was…
- What I hope for you next is…
For a birthday or anniversary
- What I hope the next ten years bring you is…
- The best advice you ever gave me was…
- A tradition I will always connect with you is…
For a retirement or farewell
- The project I will always remember working on with you is…
- What you changed about how our team works is…
- What I will miss most about having you here is…
For remembering someone
- What I want their family to know about them is…
- A story they told that I still repeat is…
- How they made an ordinary day better was…
Adding a photograph
Choose a picture with a story behind it, not just a posed portrait. Fondly prints photographs in black and white by default so old and new pictures sit together, and you can keep any photograph in colour if it matters.