A gift for someone dear

Their whole life — in a book. Their voice or video on every page.

Every week we send one warm question. Mom or dad taps the link and simply talks — by voice or on camera, nothing to install. Each answer becomes a beautifully written story, and the stories become a hardcover book where every page plays their own voice through a QR code.

Who is the book for?

We will match the book’s questions to the person you choose.

Ordering takes a minute — one payment, no subscription. Money back within 30 days of payment, up until the book goes to print.

Not sure it will fit? Take the quiz — 5 questions, under a minute
  • ✓ Writing is optional, they can just talk
  • ✓ They answer by voice — or on camera
  • ✓ No app, no password — a link simply opens

A perfect gift for a birthday, anniversary, Nooruz or Mother’s Day

A daughter presents a hardcover life-story book to her mother

Design the cover of your book

Type the title and the names — the book on screen changes right away. This is how it will arrive.

Cover

This is only part of the collection. We can draw a cover made just for your book.

The photo stays on this screen only. You will add it to the book after checkout.

You can change the cover and the title any time before printing.

How it works

They just talk. We make the book.

  1. A daughter hands her smiling mother an elegantly wrapped gift box

    You give the gift

    Ordering takes a minute: their name, your WhatsApp, one payment. We greet them warmly in your name — and prepare a beautiful gift certificate the same day.

  2. A phone screen with a question in a chat and a voice-message reply

    A question arrives every week

    On WhatsApp — warm and simple: “Tell me, how did you and dad meet?” The question arrives together with a link to answer — and that page is always open: no need to wait for the week, she can tell a story every day. The whole family can suggest questions.

  3. A grandmother at her kitchen table records a voice message over tea

    She taps the link and talks

    A simple page opens: one big question, one button. She talks the way she would send a voice message — or turns on the camera and tells it face to face. No app, no password.

  4. A grandmother laughs while recording a voice message, her daughter hugging her

    Stories appear — the family listens

    We carefully turn each recording into a written story — keeping her words and her voice. New stories reach your family the same day, and once enough have gathered, we print the book.

A look inside

From a spoken memory to a finished story

This is what Velena looks like: the page your mom sees, and the stories your family keeps.

The Velena recording page: a question at the top and one large record button

One question, one button

All she sees is the question and a big record button.

A video answer being recorded: the question on screen, the storyteller in a small self-view

She answers on camera — or by voice

If she likes, she turns on the camera — the grandkids will see her smile. The QR codes in the book will play the video too.

The “My stories” list: finished stories with photos and play buttons

The stories add up to a book

Every answer is one more story. You watch them gather into a whole book.

An open hardcover book with a family photo, a story in Russian and a QR code

The book

Not just a book — a family heirloom

A premium hardcover made from their stories and your family photos. And unlike any other book, this one speaks.

  • Hardcover, thick archival paper
  • Their stories, told in their own words
  • A QR code on every story — point a camera and hear their voice or watch the video
  • Every recording is kept in your Velena account and can be downloaded anytime

The photo, the story, the voice and the video — on one page

Every story in the book has its own QR code. Point the camera — and the story plays in her own voice, or the video opens, exactly as she told it.

An open book with a black-and-white family photo and a QR code; next to it a phone playing the same story in the grandmother’s voice

Price

One gift. One payment.

$99 one-time

What’s included

  • A whole year of questions — answered at their own pace, even daily
  • Voice recordings without limits — in any language
  • Every story beautifully written out and kept for your family
  • A hardcover printed book with a QR code on every story
  • The whole family invited to read and listen
  • Every recording downloadable anytime

Want video too? Add video answers for $19 — the QR codes will also play her telling it on camera.

Money-back guarantee: a full refund within 30 days of purchase, up until the book goes to print.

The cost of recordings already transcribed is deducted from the refund.

Give it today — you receive a beautiful gift certificate right away; the book arrives once the stories have been gathered.

Yours forever

Their stories belong to your family. Forever.

One payment, no subscription

The payment covers a whole year of new recordings. Reading, listening and watching never expire — and nothing is ever charged again.

Download everything

Every recording and every story can be saved to your own phone or computer at any moment — the archive is yours, not ours.

The QR codes keep working

Open the book in thirty years, point a camera at a page — and hear her voice again.

Why give it now

While you can still ask

While you can still ask

Every family has questions it keeps postponing: how they met, what the old town was like, what grandmother dreamed of at twenty. The best moment to ask is now — and the answers stay with your family forever.

Even if you live far away

Even if you live far away

Children and grandchildren scatter across cities and countries. The questions travel by WhatsApp to wherever mom is, and every new story reaches the whole family the moment it is written — wherever they are.

The grandchildren will hear their voice

The grandchildren will hear their voice

Photos survive; a voice rarely does. Here every story keeps the voice that told it — thirty years from now the grandchildren will hear grandmother herself, telling how young she was.

Questions

What families ask

Will it be hard for my mom? Does she need to install anything?
No. The question arrives wherever you choose — on WhatsApp or by email. She taps the link and a simple page opens: one big question and one record button. No app, no account, no password. If she gets stuck, we help her on WhatsApp.
What if she is shy or doesn’t know what to tell?
That’s what the questions are for: warm and simple — about childhood, love, work, family. A ready set is already waiting on her page, the whole family can add their own, and any question that doesn’t spark a memory can be skipped or swapped.
What language can the stories be in?
Any language they are comfortable in: English, French, Dutch, Russian, or a natural mix, the way people actually speak. We write the story in the language it was told in and keep the original recording untouched.
Can she answer on camera, not just by voice?
Yes. With the video add-on she chooses for every answer: voice or camera — and the QR codes in the book will play the video too. You can add it at any time.
When do we get the book?
Whenever you’re ready. An eager storyteller can answer every day and gather a book’s worth in a few weeks. We suggest not rushing, though — two or three months collect noticeably more stories. You can follow every new story in Velena, and we agree the delivery details with you when the book is ready.
Is this a subscription?
No. You pay once. Every recording stays with your family, and nothing is charged later.
What if she skips a week or wants to answer later?
Nothing is lost. The questions wait patiently — she can answer two next week, or record five in one evening. A year is more than enough time, and we remind her gently, without nagging.
Whose recordings are they? What if we want to keep everything?
They belong to your family. Every voice recording and every story can be downloaded at any time — the book is yours on paper, the archive is yours digitally.
Can I give this if my parents live in another city or country?
Yes — that is exactly when it works best. Questions reach them on WhatsApp wherever they live, the family listens online from anywhere, and we send the finished book to whichever address you choose.
What if it doesn’t work out?
You have 30 days from the moment of payment: if the gift isn’t right and the book hasn’t gone to print yet, we refund the full amount. The cost of recordings already transcribed is deducted from the refund. And whatever happens, every recording stays downloadable for your family.

Ask us on WhatsApp

An open hardcover book with a family photo, a story in Russian and a QR code

The warmest gift is their own story

Ordering takes a minute — and the first question can be asked this very day.

Start their book