Family Story Sessions · Downtown Tucson
Give the stories only your family knows a place to live.
A conversation for the people you love: their voice, their humor, their way of seeing the world. Bring a parent, grandparent, partner, or chosen-family member into our downtown Tucson studio.
Choose a conversation guided by Tom or a private conversation led by your family. Start wherever the stories feel comfortable.
More than a list of dates
The laugh before the punchline. The way they tell it.
A family story holds more than facts. It holds a gesture, a familiar expression, the sound of someone remembering a kitchen, a friendship, a turning point. Family Story Sessions makes room for those details and the person behind them.
You do not need a remarkable life story or a special occasion. Everyday memories deserve attention, too. If you are looking for legacy storytelling in Tucson, this is a warm place to start a conversation.
Your people. Your choice.
Who would you like asking the questions?
Guided by Tom
Tom can be the interviewer, helping the conversation unfold with thoughtful, open-ended prompts. You can join in, listen, or help choose the memories you want to explore.
We talk first about the person, the purpose, and topics that feel welcome. There is no script to perform.
A private family conversation
Your family can lead the conversation in the studio without Tom as interviewer. Ask each other the questions you have always wanted to ask, in your own words.
Before recording, agree who will be in the room, what technical support is needed, and who may access the recording. Private does not mean those details are left to chance.
A small object can open a big memory
Bring the story into the room.
Come with a memory, or bring something that helps one surface. Nothing is required. These optional materials can prompt conversation and, when agreed, help shape the final experience.
Photographs
Who was just outside the frame? What happened after the picture?
Letters & keepsakes
A handwritten note, a recipe, a well-used object. What do you remember about holding it?
Music & home movies
What song brings you back? What sounds, places, and people do you remember?
Discuss any video, photographs, music, letters, or other family material with Tom first. Permission, rights, suitability, and use must be agreed; bringing an item does not automatically include it in an edit.
A plan made together
From a first conversation to something you can return to.
Talk first
Tell Tom who the session is for, why you want to record, and who you hope will hear it. Discuss comfort, consent, access, and any boundaries.
Shape the questions
Choose topics and gentle prompts together. “What did that room sound like?” can open more than a list of dates. Agree the final format, editing, privacy, price, and review process before work begins.
Record the conversation
Follow the memories at the narrator’s pace. Keep the original voice and point of view at the center. Anyone can skip a topic, pause, or stop.
Decide what happens next
Review the agreed work together and confirm what may be shared, with whom, and how. Any changes to scope need a new agreement before further work. Nothing is released publicly automatically.
An output shaped around your family
Your Story Package, made personal.
“Story Package” is a working name for the custom combination you and Tom might choose. It could be a finished conversation film, shorter story chapters, a photo-and-video montage, or private audio/video files. A transcript or written story, music, photographs, home movies, letters, and a keepsake-oriented presentation are other possibilities to discuss.
These are possibilities, not a list of included deliverables. The exact format, materials, editing, price, review, and sharing arrangements are custom-scoped and agreed before work begins. The offer is still being shaped; your first conversation helps define what is right for you.
Why this matters to Tom
Listening changed what he wanted to keep.
Near the end of his mother’s life, Tom spent time listening to her stories. Those conversations helped him understand how valuable a familiar voice and a personal point of view can be—and how often families wait to ask.
Family Story Sessions grew from that experience. You do not have to wait for a difficult moment. It can begin with curiosity, laughter, and someone you would like to know a little better.
Your story stays yours to share
Consent is a conversation, too.
- Before recording, we discuss purpose, topics, who is participating, and what each person is comfortable recording.
- Consent is ongoing. The person telling the story can skip a topic, pause, or stop; no explanation is required.
- We agree recording, editing, review, access, use, and storage or preservation expectations before work begins, including who receives files and how long any studio copies are kept.
- The narrator and family decide privacy and sharing boundaries together. Review comes before any public sharing, with explicit permission for the agreed use.
- There is no automatic public release, publication, or archiving. Private family sharing can be the whole purpose.
A few things you might be wondering.
Who is a Family Story Session for?
A parent, grandparent, couple, family, or chosen-family member with stories to tell. There is no age milestone or life event required.
Does Tom lead, or can we talk privately?
Either. Tom can guide the interview, or your family can conduct a private conversation in the studio. Agree who is present and what recording support you need beforehand.
What should we bring?
Curiosity is enough. Optional photos, letters, keepsakes, music, or home video can help prompt memories. Talk with Tom about usable formats and permissions before including material in the finished work.
Does it have to be public?
No. You can keep the recording for private family sharing. Access and use are agreed with the narrator and family; any public sharing requires review and explicit permission.
What if a topic feels sensitive?
Set boundaries in the pre-session conversation, and change them as you go. Skip a question, pause, or stop whenever you need. There is no pressure to tell every story.
What does it cost, and what do we receive?
Price and deliverables are decided after a scope conversation. A custom Story Package might bring together selected audio, video, written, or visual elements. No single package or set of elements is automatically included; we agree the exact format, editing, privacy, price, and review before work begins.
Does this replace genealogy research or counseling?
No. This is a storytelling and recording service, not genealogy research, historical verification, legal or estate biography work, or counseling. It makes room for personal memories in the teller’s own words.
Start with someone you love listening to
Whose story would you like to hear?
Tell Tom a little about your family and what you hope to keep. You do not need the questions—or the finished format—figured out yet.