Ask them while you can.

101 questions to ask your grandparents, from a man who's lived 101 years. The ones I never asked my grandad. Reg

Get the journal for $15 Or try 5 questions free Instant download · Fillable and printable

Their life, in their own words.

Ask Them While You Can is a journal you fill in together, one question and one cup of tea at a time. When it's finished, your family has their story, written down for good.

101questions, in ten chapters
68pages, with room to write every answer
2ways to fill it in: type on screen or print it
$15instant download, yours to keep
Reg in his armchair, looking out of the window
My chair by the window, Fulham

A letter from Reg

Hello, young'un.

When I was a boy, my grandad sat by the fire in the evenings and said nothing much at all. I never asked him a single question. Not about his work, not about the war he fought in, not about how he met my nan. I thought there'd be time.

There wasn't. He died when I was twelve, and everything he knew went with him.

I'm a hundred and one now, so I've had plenty of time to regret that. This little book is my way of making up for it. It's full of the questions I wish I'd asked him.

Don't make my mistake. Put the kettle on, sit down with them and ask. You'll be glad you did, and I promise they will be too.

Reg
101 · Carpenter · Husband to Joan

Start tonight. It takes one question.

Get the journal for $15

Go on, ask Reg.

A few questions from the journal. Tap one to read how Reg answered it, then imagine your own grandparent's answer.

What's inside

Ten chapters that walk through a whole life.

Reg beside his wedding photograph and a china teacup
Me and Joan, on the side table

The questions

  • Ten chapters101 questions
    Each one a stage of their life, in the order they lived it.
  • The early yearsInside
    Where they grew up, and what it was like back then.
  • Love and workInside
    The jobs they did and the people they met along the way.
  • The hard bitsInside
    The times they got through, and who got them through.
  • Looking backInside
    What a long life teaches them, in their own words.
  • One last question1
    Saved for the very end. You'll know it when you get there.

And the rest

  • A letter from RegIncluded
  • "About them" family pageIncluded
  • Pages for old photographs2
  • Fillable on screen, or printedBoth

How it goes

First, the download

It arrives the moment you pay. Open it on a screen, or print it and tuck it in a folder.

Reg in his green armchair

Then, the kettle

Pick a quiet afternoon. Put the kettle on. Reg insists on this part.

Reg on a garden bench with a cup of tea

One question at a time

Don't rush it. A single question can fill a whole afternoon.

Reg telling a story over a pint

Write it down, or record it

Type the answers in, write them by hand, or press record on your phone and keep their voice too.

Reg looking out of his front-room window

Add the old photographs

Fill the photo pages with the pictures from the biscuit tin, and ask who's in them.

Reg smiling at his wedding photograph

Keep it for good

Print a copy for everyone in the family. Their story, kept for the next lot.

Reg at his carpentry workbench

A hundred and one years

Reg has seen a fair bit. He'd like you to ask about it.

1925

Born off the Fulham Road

A little terraced house, a tin bath in front of the fire on a Friday, and a mother who could make a stew last all week.

Reg in profile by the window
1939

Apprenticed, aged fourteen

Started in a joiner's yard sweeping shavings. Worked with wood for the next fifty years.

Reg at his workbench
1948

Met Joan at a dance

She wore a yellow dress. He trod on her foot twice. Her photograph still sits by his chair.

Reg beside his wedding photograph
Fridays

One pint, never two

Same pub, same corner, for longer than most of the regulars have been alive.

Reg with a pint in the pub
2026

A hundred and one, and still talking

Now he's telling his stories to anyone who'll listen, and hoping you'll go and ask for yours.

Reg in the garden in a straw hat

Get the journal

Ask Them While You Can

  • 101 questions in ten chapters
  • 68 pages, fillable and printable
  • A letter from Reg and a family page
  • Two pages for old photographs
  • Instant download, emailed to you
  • Print copies for your whole family
$15
Get the journal One payment. Yours to keep.

Your questions

Who is it for? Anyone with a grandparent, parent or older relative whose stories they'd like to keep. Plenty of people buy it for themselves; plenty more give it as a present.

Is it a printed book? No, it's a PDF you download straight away. Type into it on a computer or tablet with a free app such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or print it and use a pen.

Can I give it as a gift? Yes. Print it, put it in a folder and tie a ribbon round it, or forward the download to whoever will be doing the asking.

How many copies can I print? As many as your own family needs, so everyone can keep one. Please don't share it publicly or resell it.

What if they say they can't remember much? Start with the easy ones: a favourite smell, a first job, a song. One memory nearly always leads to another.

What if my grandparents have passed away? Many families fill it in with a parent, an aunt or an uncle instead. It works for anyone with a long life behind them.

How long does it take? As long as you like. Some families do a question a week over Sunday lunch; others fill it in over a weekend away.

Why is it priced in US dollars? Reg's listeners are all over the world. Your bank converts the price automatically at checkout.

Is Reg real? Reg is an AI character, and his stories are fiction. The questions are real, and so are the answers you'll collect.

Not sure yet?

Try five questions, free. If they get you talking, there are 96 more.

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  2. What was your first job?
  3. What's the best advice you were ever given?
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Reg in his garden with a cup of tea

Ask Them While You Can101 questions · $15

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