A free plan for family conversations
52 weeks of life story questions.
An ordinary room, an old friend, a meal you still remember. Give each conversation a small place to begin. You can follow the weeks, skip ahead or let one question last as long as you like.
52 original questions · Optional dates · Edit any prompt · Text download · Browser printing · No account
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Make a little room for a story
Keep the questions you like and change the others. You can use the calendar together without recording or writing anything down.
Leave this blank for numbered weeks. If you choose a date, each following week begins seven days later. This is a printable plan; it sends no reminders.
52 weeks of life story questions
Choose a question together. Skip, pause or change it whenever you wish. Ask before recording and agree who may read or hear what you keep.
Weeks 1–13
| Week | A starting point for your conversation | Tried |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picture an ordinary room you spent time in as a child. What was within reach? | |
| 2 | Follow a route you knew by heart when you were young. What did you pass? | |
| 3 | Who would you look for when you arrived somewhere familiar? | |
| 4 | What was something small you liked choosing for yourself? | |
| 5 | Tell a story about a place where people waited together. | |
| 6 | What was a sound that belonged to a particular time of day? | |
| 7 | Describe a game or pastime as if you were showing someone how to join in. | |
| 8 | What did you do when a day went differently from the usual routine? | |
| 9 | Tell about someone whose way of speaking you can still hear. | |
| 10 | What did a friend notice or enjoy that you might otherwise have missed? | |
| 11 | Describe an ordinary task you shared with someone older than you. | |
| 12 | How did you keep in touch with someone who lived elsewhere? | |
| 13 | What is a small kindness you remember receiving? |
Weeks 14–26
| Week | A starting point for your conversation | Tried |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Who could make an everyday situation feel different just by arriving? | |
| 15 | Tell about a visit you remember preparing for. | |
| 16 | What would you like us to know about a person who rarely appears in family photographs? | |
| 17 | What was something you learned by watching rather than being told? | |
| 18 | Describe a first attempt at a skill you later became comfortable with. | |
| 19 | What did you do with a piece of advice that did not quite fit your situation? | |
| 20 | Tell about a question you once felt shy about asking. | |
| 21 | What did a teacher or mentor do that helped you understand something? | |
| 22 | How did you find out what you were good at, or what you enjoyed? | |
| 23 | Tell about something you were glad to try even though it did not go as planned. | |
| 24 | What is something you understand differently now from when you were younger? | |
| 25 | Walk through the beginning of a working day you remember clearly. | |
| 26 | What tools or objects made a familiar job possible? |
Weeks 27–39
| Week | A starting point for your conversation | Tried |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Tell about a person you enjoyed working alongside. | |
| 28 | What was a small problem you had to work out for yourself? | |
| 29 | Describe something you helped make, grow, organise or repair. | |
| 30 | What did finishing a task feel like on an ordinary day? | |
| 31 | Tell about a responsibility whose importance was easy for others to miss. | |
| 32 | What did you like doing when the work of the day was over? | |
| 33 | Choose a meal you remember. What was happening before everyone sat down? | |
| 34 | What is a family habit you have seen change over time? | |
| 35 | Tell about an object you kept for a reason someone else might not guess. | |
| 36 | How did people around you prepare for an occasion they looked forward to? | |
| 37 | What did you do on a day when there was no special plan? | |
| 38 | Tell about a favourite place to sit, rest or talk. | |
| 39 | What saying or expression would you like to explain to a younger relative? |
Weeks 40–52
| Week | A starting point for your conversation | Tried |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | What would you choose to show someone from an old family album, and why? | |
| 41 | Describe an arrival in a place that was new to you. | |
| 42 | What helped you feel at home somewhere unfamiliar? | |
| 43 | Tell about a choice that changed your everyday routine. | |
| 44 | What did you carry with you when you moved or travelled? | |
| 45 | How did you mark the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of another? | |
| 46 | What is a place that looks different now but still brings back a particular moment? | |
| 47 | Tell about something you changed your mind about. | |
| 48 | What is a detail of an important time that you would like to check rather than guess? | |
| 49 | What are you glad you made room for in your life? | |
| 50 | Which ordinary moment would you like a future reader to be able to picture? | |
| 51 | What is something you would like to say to the person reading these stories? | |
| 52 | What would you enjoy being asked about next? |
Original prompts from MemoirWell · memoirwell.com/tools/life-story-question-calendar
Let the question start the conversation
Choose a comfortable time together. Ask what they would enjoy talking about and let their answer lead. There is no weekly assignment to finish, and a printed tick box only helps you remember what you have tried.
Ask before recording, and agree separately who may hear or read what you keep. The Oral History Association's guidance describes open questions, attentive listening and respect for the speaker's choices. These 52 starting questions are original MemoirWell prompts, not a reproduction of another organization's list.
Before you print
Is this a free printable list of 52 life story questions?
Yes. You can use all 52 questions, change their wording or leave a week blank. Printing and text download need no account or payment. The calendar is arranged in four groups of thirteen weeks. Longer custom questions and notes may use more pages.
Do I have to start in January?
No. Choose any starting date, or leave dates blank and use the week numbers. The following dates are seven days apart. This is a flexible conversation plan, not an email subscription or a reminder service.
Where are my edits saved?
Your custom questions and notes stay in this page's memory. This tool does not upload them, use AI or autosave them. Refreshing or closing clears your edits. Download text or print before leaving. The downloaded TXT can be edited in a text editor; this tool cannot reopen it as a filled calendar.
Can I save the calendar as a PDF?
Print or save PDF opens your browser's print dialog. PDF options depend on your browser and device. Review your questions first, then choose Letter or A4 and check the preview before printing.
Did one question bring back a story?
Keep your calendar first. MemoirWell's separate guided interview can help you develop one remembered scene into a draft chapter to check and edit. Your calendar is not transferred automatically.
Start a free first chapterDownload or print your questions before leaving this page.