Save the Story · Chapter 1 of 10

Roots & beginnings

the world you were born into, before you knew anything else. Scan a square or tap Record — the paperback stays on the table; the voice stays in the app.

01 · start here
What's the earliest memory you can still reach back to?
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02
What did your childhood home sound like at dinner?
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03
What did your childhood home smell like when you walked in?
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04
Where in your childhood home did you most like to be alone?
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05
Describe the street, lane, or landscape where you grew up.
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06
What was a typical Sunday like when you were a child?
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07
Who in your family was known for telling the same story over and over?
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08
Was there a family member everyone has a story about — the character, the rogue, the kindly one?
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09
What did your parents (or whoever raised you) do for work?
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10
What did money look like in your childhood — present, absent, talked about, never talked about?
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11
What was your relationship with your grandparents — if you knew them?
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12
Who was your first best friend?
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13
What was your first school like on the first day?
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14
What was a punishment in your house — and what was a reward?
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15
Was there a teacher, in any of your early years, whose attention made a difference?
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16
What were you afraid of as a child?
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17
What did your family do — or not do — at Christmas, Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah, or whichever holiday loomed largest?
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18
What was the family rule no one ever wrote down but everyone knew?
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19
What's a meal from childhood you still think about?
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20
Did you have a pet as a child, and what did they teach you?
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21
What did Saturday mornings look like in your house?
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22
Was there a place — not your own home — that felt magical to you as a child?
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23
Was there a moment in childhood when you saw your parents as separate people, not just your parents?
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24
What did you read, watch, or listen to over and over as a child?
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25
Was there a sibling or close cousin who you measured yourself against?
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26
What story did your family tell about *you* as a child?
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27
What did a typical row in your house sound like?
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28
Was there an illness, injury, or scare in your family that everyone remembers?
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29
What was a chore or responsibility you were given young, and how did you feel about it?
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30
If you could send a single message back to the child you were — small, specific, kind — what would it be?
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31
What was the climate of your family, growing up — warm, formal, chaotic, watchful, something else?
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32
What were the deepest lessons your family taught you about being a person — said or unsaid?
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