Your Stories. Beautifully Told.
Family Legacy Plus | Personal storytelling
Your Stories.
Beautifully Told.
Everyone has a story worth preserving. Not everyone knows how to tell it.
We turn memories, recorded conversations, diaries, letters and unfinished manuscripts into beautifully written personal histories and books for the people who matter most.
Tell us about your story →Some stories are too important to lose
The most precious stories often begin at home.
Perhaps your father left behind wartime diaries. Perhaps your mother has wonderful stories about her childhood. Perhaps you’ve started writing your memoir but never found the words to finish it. You bring the memories. We help you give them shape, warmth and a lasting home.
You don’t need a family tree, a finished manuscript or any writing experience. You simply need a story worth telling.
How we can help
Every life deserves its own kind of story.
Your Life Story
Through thoughtful interviews, including conversations by Zoom, we help capture the events, people, humour and turning points that shaped your life, then craft a memoir in your own voice.
Diaries, Letters & Manuscripts
From a soldier’s wartime diaries to old family letters or an unfinished family history, we organise your material into a clear, compelling narrative, with historical context where appropriate.
Memories That Matter
Sensitive, unhurried conversations for older people or those wishing to leave their memories, wisdom and personal messages to family. Always guided by their wishes, privacy and consent.
Milestone Celebrations
A personal story for an 80th or 90th birthday, anniversary or reunion. A thoughtful gift combining cherished photographs, treasured memories and the voices of loved ones.
Eulogies & Tributes
Warm, sincere words to honour someone you love. We listen carefully and help find a voice that captures their character, relationships, achievements and humour.
Writing & Editing
Already written a family story? We can help reshape, edit or complete it, preserving your meaning while giving the manuscript clarity, flow and polish.
A personal process
Listen. Shape. Preserve.
We discuss your story, the audience and the material available. Interviews can be conducted remotely.
We transcribe and organise the material, develop a narrative, and keep factual uncertainties clearly distinguished from memories.
You review the manuscript and agree any refinements. We can prepare a digital keepsake or print-ready book, with physical printing quoted separately.
The writer behind your story
Four published books. A lifelong love affair with words.
I’m Gavin Crombie, founder of Family Legacy Plus, author of four published nonfiction books, and currently wrestling with a fifth, Hard Road to Shu, a memoir of my adventures, misadventures, and occasionally improbable experiences during my years in China.
Writing has been one of my great passions for as long as I can remember. My published books have explored the adventures and peculiarities of doing business in China, the insights of 25 leading architects and designers, and the fascinating world of human health.
But my literary activities have never been confined to books. They’ve also included blogs, cheeky emails, inappropriate comments, uplifting aphorisms, and a remarkably extensive collection of letters of apology, many of which were necessitated by the aforementioned cheeky emails and inappropriate comments.
I’ve always had an irrepressible sense of humour and an enormous enthusiasm for life, qualities that occasionally make themselves inconveniently apparent when I’m attempting to appear dignified and serious.
And perhaps that’s why I love telling family stories. Because the most memorable lives are rarely the ones lived entirely according to the rules.
Published works
Hard Road to Shu
A memoir in progress, drawing on years living and working in China, and the adventures, challenges and unforgettable characters encountered along the way.
Begin with a conversation
What story would you like to preserve?
Tell us what you have, whether it’s a few memories, a box of letters or an unfinished book. We’ll discuss an approach and a quotation suited to the material. No obligation.
Start the conversation →Personal stories and family materials are treated with care and confidentiality. Recordings and third-party material are used only with appropriate permission.
Your story starts here
Every great story begins with a conversation.
Tell us a little about what you have in mind. You don't need a finished manuscript, or even a clear plan. Your initial enquiry is free and without obligation.
We will respond personally and discuss a sensible approach and quotation suited to your project.
Please don't send sensitive diaries, private documents or recordings at this stage. We can discuss secure sharing arrangements later.