Talk to Amanda
There is no form to fill in and no call centre. You are getting in touch with the person who would do the work.
Get in touch and tell me what you have in mind. You do not need to have decided anything, or to know which of the things on this site you are asking about. Most first messages are questions rather than bookings, and I answer them myself.
How to reach me
WhatsApp is the route that is set up and working today, and it goes straight to me.
The number is 07843 171332. If you would rather talk than type, say so in the first message and we will arrange it.
You do not need to know what you want
People get in touch for very different reasons, and all of these are normal first messages.
- You would like me to do it. Somebody’s story written properly, from conversations I have with them.
- You already have something. Recordings on a phone, a box of photographs and letters, a journal somebody started and stopped. Tell me roughly what you have and I will tell you honestly what could be made from it.
- It is a present. A birthday, an anniversary, Christmas. Tell me who it is for and when, and we will work out what makes sense in the time.
- You want to do it yourselves. Then you may not need me at all. The questions and guides are free and they are the method, not a taster. Ask me anything about them.
- You want to know when the Memory Kit is ready. Say so and I will tell you when it is.
- You do not know yet. Most people. Describe the person and the situation and I will tell you what I would do.
What to put in a first message
Three lines is plenty:
- who the story is for, and roughly how old they are
- whether it is a gift, something you want to do soon, or something you are gathering after a death
- anything that makes it urgent, if it is
What happens after that
I answer messages myself, so you are not going to get an automated reply or a sales call.
If it sounds like something I can help with, the next step is a proper conversation about the person, the situation and what you actually want at the end of it. Nothing is booked and nothing is paid at that point.
If it is not something I can help with, or if you would be better off doing it yourself, I will say so and point you at the part of this site that helps.
Where I work, and how
I am based in Colchester and most of the work happens in person across Essex and Suffolk, in the other person’s own home and their own chair, which matters more than it sounds.
Further afield, or where getting to somebody is difficult, it is worked out between us rather than ruled out. Tell me where the person is and we will find something that works.
If it is not urgent
There is no harm in reading first. What Amanda does explains the process, pricing explains what it costs, Amanda’s writing shows what the finished thing actually reads like, and the questions and guides are there to be used without me.
Last updated 20 September 2026.
I conduct every conversation myself, and I write every story myself. Nothing is handed off. Read about Amanda→