Living Narratives

05/08/2024

We love books here, and really, what can be better than curling up with a good book on a cold day?

Even better when that book has been written by someone you know, someone close to you, whose story is interlinked with your own. What will you learn about your loved one? What will you learn about yourself?

At Living Narratives, we help you turn your story into a book that will survive for future generations to benefit from. Never underestimate the impact your unique shared experience could have!

27/06/2024

Wishing you all a Matariki weekend of whānau, kai and the sharing of memories.

Ngā mihi o Matariki
x Living Narratives

22/04/2024

What shape would your story take? Words describe your emotions and experiences and give you a voice; photos are evocative of memories, places, lifestyles and time periods. Putting these together into a book gives you an heirloom that all ages can enjoy.

Are you ready to create your own piece of history? We'd be honoured to help you turn your story into a book like this one.

11/03/2024

Are you a bit unsure where to start with writing your life story?

It doesn't have to cover your whole life, you could choose something special to you and build your story around that... perhaps your Christmas memories, or the memories made around your table (and include your favourite recipes). Maybe you could write your advice to the next generation, or a love letter to your great-great-great grandchild that you'll never meet.

Be creative, give it a go, and enjoy the process!

07/03/2024

Happy International Women's Day!

A good reminder to appreciate the women close to us, those known to us, those we'll brush shoulders with during the day and those following in our footsteps.

I'm also reminded to marvel at the beauty in our differences and to take the opportunity to find connections with each other through shared stories.

06/03/2024

Writing your life story takes time, love, and attention. Sometimes it might feel like you're getting nowhere, and at other times, the words will flow.

Allow yourself time, put it aside for a bit, come back to it later, and slowly you'll start to see the threads coming together... piece-by-pice, colour-by-colour.

And then, after a while, you'll realise you've created something whole, beautiful... done.

Photo by Gio Gix on Unsplash

17/01/2024

Lovely feedback from Wayne, who we designed a book for at the end of last year.

We love being able to use our skills to bring joy to people – this sort of feedback is what drives us!

20/09/2023

A life story doesn't have to be the story of a person... this book we've been working on covers 150 years of the life of a primary school!

It was a big job to lay out the words and their many photos (the school's editorial committee did an amazing job of pulling so much history together!)... the result is going to be a durable, beautiful hard-cover book that will last for ages... maybe even the next 150 years!

If your group, school, business or organisation is approaching a big milestone, maybe you'd like to celebrate your achievement with a book similar to this. Let us know if we can help you!

26/07/2023

What do you remember from your childhood? Are there any memories that really stand out for good reasons?

Feel free to share below!

As a child, I always looked forward to holidays at my grandparent's house in Taranaki. I remember clambering over the big rocks of Bell Block Beach with my younger brothers – there was something special about the size of those boulders compared to us, and the gaps in between them that could have been hiding all sorts of scary creatures or treasures...

29/06/2023

Simon Greening's self-published book, 'Faith After Forty' (book design by Living Narratives) was launched last night, and is available to purchase for $25.

From the blurb: "This book is about integrating life and faith and the journey that I am on as I attempt to do just that. I think about life and death... relationships, money, career, parenting, renovating., and all the other things in between."

Simon is an employment lawyer by day, managing a boutique social enterprise law firm that provides excellent advice and representation whilst also investing profit into projects that help human beings flourish.

Buy a copy of the book at www.faith-after-forty.com

29/06/2023

Why do we design books? Books are only one of the ways to tell and retain a real-life story, but they are one of our favourite mediums.

Reading a book gets you away from screens and doom-scrolling, forcing you to take a bit of time out from a busy schedule. Your imagination is let loose as you interpret the words you're reading, and you're exercising your muscles by placing yourself in someone else's shoes for a bit.

You could also be learning about yourself in new ways, unlocking family knowledge, or gaining a new appreciation for someone you thought you already knew well.

Plus, the combination of font choice, margin spacing, image placement, paper thickness and binding method means there's plenty for us as designers to get nerdy about...

What do you love about books?

26/06/2023

Thank you, Margaret, for writing your life story and letting us turn it into a book for you!

x

22/06/2023

There are still some copies of this book available: visit the 'Buy Books' page on our website to contact the author. https://livingnarratives.co.nz/self-published-authors/

'The Monster Inside of Me' by Emma Mackie is a heart-on-the-sleeve, no holds barred, honest account of a struggle and fight for physical survival while battling an internal enemy—anorexia. Through sharing her own experience, Emma aims to provide a toolkit to enable others to fight their internal food enemies—or those of a friend, a sibling, a parent or even a stranger.

15/06/2023

You've spent hours and hours (years?) writing your memoir. Now that you've finally completed it, what do you do with it next?

Read our latest blog article for some options on what you could do with it from here.

Congratulations on writing your story! No doubt it’s been a big job, but hopefully one that you’ve enjoyed doing. But what do you do with it now?

13/06/2023

Where do you start to write your life story?

🖊 It’s up to you! You can start at the very beginning – when you were born – or even before that, like when your ancestors were born.

🖊 You can start at the present day and work backwards.

🖊 You can pick a defining moment in your life and describe how it changed you.

🖊 You could start with dialogue, maybe a message of wisdom that was once given to you.

Get more ideas and tips on how to get started, by downloading the free, 20-page resource, 'How to tell your life story and leave a lasting treasure', available from our website (https://livingnarratives.co.nz/getting-started/).

12/06/2023

Stories weave connections between us, help us to look at the world with different perspectives, and encourage empathy across differences.

We need more of that. Do you agree?

09/06/2023

Looking for a new book to read?

'Everything Begins With E' is the author's diary of a 100-day journey to break an addiction. Written openly and honestly, Erica shares her deeply spiritual and introspective understanding of her present and future self, and what is possible when you commit to being distraction-free.

Visit the 'Buy Books' page on our website (https://livingnarratives.co.nz/self-published-authors/) to get yourself a copy.

We believe in the power of personal stories and the value your lived experience has for future generations. Tell your story as a gift to those yet to come.

23/05/2023

Music can take you back to a memory, or have associations with a moment in time. I was in a meeting today at a cafe today, and a song came on in the background, that immediately reminded me of my Dad.

What pieces of music hold a special place in your heart? What's been the best live concert you've been to? What stories from your life are connected to music?

🎷🎻🥁

11/05/2023

It's Mother's Day this Sunday!

Here's to the women behind the title of 'mother' – we celebrate you and thank you.

My Mum (Robyn) is an accepting and selfless giver of her time; whether it's in her work with our local community, taking care of Dad through to his last, playing Connect 4 with her grandchildren, supporting our dreams and aspirations, or making sure there's more than enough for Monday night family dinner, she's there, making it happen, all the time.

What is something you admire or remember about your mother or another significant woman in your life?

❤️

28/04/2023

What does fruit salad have to do with life stories?

There are probably many analogies that could be created, but this image represents a part of what Living Narratives' mission is all about: read on for an explanation!

👇

Aotearoa New Zealand is a rich mix of cultures. We're a colourful "fruit salad" of different ethnicities, backgrounds and communities. And we all have our own ways of telling stories, retaining them for the future, and sharing them with each other.

At Living Narratives, when we talk about turning your words into a book, we mean just that: YOUR words... whether they are in Te Reo Māori, English, Mandarin, Samoan or something different. The end result will always be a beautiful book containing the words you wrote, in just the way you wrote them.

Stay tuned for a blog post coming soon on more of this topic, and as always, let us know what your thoughts are about this, and what could make the telling of your story easier for you.

(Photo by Elana Selvig, Unsplash)

27/04/2023

Do you have a family member who is always reminiscing about "back in my day"; or a close friend you've watched walk a challenging journey and come out the other side...
..why not encourage them to put pen to paper and get that story out into a format that can be shared with others and kept for a long time?

21/04/2023

Do you have letters that you've collected in a shoebox over the years? If so, you have a historical treasure right there!

Letters are incredibly valuable for historians, researchers, and individuals who are interested in learning more about their own family history.

20/04/2023

You don't have to be in your later life to think about writing your story.

If you've lived through anything that's made you grow, if you've struggled with challenges that others could identify with, if you've traveled, if you've had a wide variety of experiences, if you've done anything at all, and even if you haven't... everyone has stories.

You have so much to share with others – is writing a book something you've ever thought about doing?

19/04/2023

Life story bingo!

We're not short on home-grown memoir, autobiography or biography books in Aotearoa... how many from this selection of my "read or want to read" list can you say you've completed?

(I'm 2 out of 12 so have a way to go yet!)

18/04/2023

What do you get when you choose a Living Narratives Design + Print Package?

1. We'll start with a 30-minute one-to-one meeting. This is a no obligation space to ask any questions you might have, and where we get to know each other a little.

2. Once you've decided to move ahead on turning your life story into a book, we'll take your words and photos and turn them into beautiful page layouts and a cover to match.

3. Then, you get to have a look at what we've done, give any feedback, ask for any tweaks and do one more quick proofread.

4. Once you're happy with it all, we'll send the file off to print, where the printer will create 25 copies of your A5 softcover book.

5. Delivery is included in the package cost, as long as you live in New Zealand.

6. You'll also receive a PDF (digital) version of your book, so you can keep it on file, or email it around to more people!

Are you ready to start? Contact us any time to have a chat.