Storyworth vs My Life in a Book vs Remento

In recent years, the importance of preserving family histories and personal narratives has gained significant attention. Several platforms have emerged to help families capture and share their stories, each with its own unique approach. Today, we'll compare three popular options: Storyworth®, My Life in a Book, and Remento.

Here’s the bottom line:

• Storyworth & My Life in a Book are best for those interested in writing their own memoir.
• Remento is best for people interested in a life story book, but less interested in writing it themselves.

In the table below, we’ve briefly included secondary factors to consider.

Storyworth: The Weekly Question Approach

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Storyworth is a year-long storytelling service. After sign-up, it emails a weekly question to your chosen family member. The recipient answers in writing, optionally adding photos. Responses are stored online and can be shared with family. At year's end, Storyworth compiles all stories and photos into a hardcover book. The platform is designed for ease of use, requiring only basic computer skills, making it accessible to most users regardless of age or tech-savviness.

How are stories shared?

As the storyteller answers weekly questions, responses are saved to their private account, accessible to the account owner. Stories can be shared via email with selected family or friends, encouraging ongoing engagement.

Who is Storyworth right for?

The ideal Storyworth customer loves to write and doesn’t find the prospect of writing an entire book over a year intimidating. They are also comfortable with technology as they’ll be instructed to log into Storyworth to write their reflections and add photographs.

Overall Storyworth pros

• Great gift: Storyworth makes for a meaningful gift for parents and grandparents, demonstrating genuine curiosity and signalling interest in preserving their memories.
• Quality books: Storyworth’s black and white books are printed in hardcover and built to stand the test of time.
• Good questions: Storyworth’s questions are insightful and thought-provoking, ranging from the simple and fun to the deep and meaningful.

Overall Storyworth cons

• Feels like homework: Manually typing stories weekly for a year feels like homework to most storytellers and as a result, many never finish their book.
• Time consuming editing: Once users have written their stories, editing can be lengthy and cumbersome.
• Security concerns: Some users have expressed concerns about Storyworth's platform reliability, citing instances where data disappeared
• No photo prompts: Although photos can be added to stories, many users, particularly older individuals, found this process difficult to navigate.

Learn more about Storyworth.

My Life in a Book: The Comprehensive Questionnaire

My Life in a Book  takes a more comprehensive approach compared to Storyworth's weekly question format. Instead of spreading the process over a year, My Life in a Book provides an extensive questionnaire covering various life aspects all at once. Users can work through these questions at their own pace, rather than responding to weekly prompts. While Storyworth allows for ongoing family engagement, My Life in a Book is more focused on creating a comprehensive, single-author life story.

How are stories shared with My Life In A Book?

Similar to Storyworth, storytellers of My Life In A Book are able to write stories using the company's digital platform.

Who is My Life In A Book right for?

My Life in a Book is ideal for individuals who prefer a more comprehensive, one-time approach to documenting their life story. It's well-suited for those who enjoy writing and have the time to dedicate to a detailed questionnaire.

Overall My Life In A Book Pros:

• Comprehensive life story: The extensive questionnaire ensures a thorough coverage of one's entire life, resulting in a complete autobiography rather than disconnected anecdotes.
• Self-paced process: Working through the questionnaire at one's own speed allows for thoughtful reflection without the pressure of weekly deadlines.
• Cohesive narrative: The final product is a chronological, well-structured life story, providing a clear timeline of events and experiences.

Overall My Life In A Book Cons:

• Overwhelming task: The comprehensive questionnaire can feel daunting, potentially discouraging some users from completing their life story.
• Limited family involvement: The focus on a single author's perspective may exclude the interactive element of family storytelling and shared memories.
• Lack of ongoing engagement: Without regular prompts or sharing options, the process might feel isolated and disconnected from day-to-day family interactions.

Remento: The No-write Memoir

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Remento makes it easy to turn a parent or grandparent’s best stories into a personalized memory book – no writing required. With Remento, they simply record their answer to a new storytelling prompt each week, from open-ended questions about their childhood to specific questions about a photo from their past. Then, Remento transforms all of their responses into a hardcover keepsake book of their stories.

Read the words on the page, or scan the QR code at the start of each chapter to hear the memories told in their voice. It’s an easy and fun way to share memories and create a family heirloom for generations to come.

How are stories shared with Remento?

Each week, Remento storytellers receive a new story prompt in their inbox. Unlike Storyworth, prompts can be customized by anyone in the family and include either a photo or question from the Remento question bank. The storyteller is invited to record their spoken response right from any smartphone, tablet, or computer—no downloads, logins, or passwords required. The recordings of these reflections are then processed by Remento’s Speech-to-Story™ technology and turned into beautifully written stories.

These written stories are shared across the family each week and ultimately printed into a hardcover color-printed book, featuring QR codes that link to the original recordings when scanned.

Who is Remento right for?

Remento is perfect for anyone who would enjoy the speaking about their memories without having to write them down. Plus, Remento's Speech-to-Story™ technology has an option to turn their transcript into written, well-structured narratives, ensuring that every person ends up with a book of beautifully written stories.

That said, Remento was specifically designed for storytellers without much technological savviness. There aren't any downloads, logins, or passwords required to record a memory, which can be done directly from an email or text message in as little as three taps.

Note: The best way to see how easy it is to capture stories with Remento is to watch a demo by our founder Charlie👇

Finally, Remento is best suited for storytellers within families excited to learn these stories each week. Unlike Storyworth or My Life in A Book, Remento makes it easy to invite an entire family to participate in the exploration of a loved one's stories each week - asking questions, voting on prompts, adding photos, and sharing personalized reactions.

Overall Remento Pros:

• No writing required: Remento’s Speech-to-Story technology transforms recording reflections each week into a book of stories. That means no tedious writing or editing required.
• Scan the book to watch recordings: Remento makes it easy to document both written stories and the recordings of your storyteller sharing them. Simply scan the QR code printed inside so that anyone in your family can read the stories or watch the recordings whenever they want - forever.
• Color printing included: Purchasing Remento includes the printing and free shipping of a color-printed, hardcover book, designed to bring the photographs printed through the book to life, unlike other storytelling services.
• Photo-based prompts: Remento allows image prompts for users to share stories behind photos, enabling the creation of a “narrated photo album” as many customers refer to it as.

Overall Remento cons:

• Not a writing-first platform: Remento encourages storytellers to record their stories, making it less suited for those most interested in writing the stories manually.
• Leads to family involvement: Remento's focus on cross-family collaboration isn't well suited for storytellers keen to document their life stories on their own.

BONUS: Hear what customers are saying

What Customers Say About Storyworth

What Customers Say About My Life in a Book

What Customers Say About Remento

Hear more about what customers say about Remento

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