My Father’s Memoir
Why We Believe in Preserving Family History
For the last five years of his life, my father worked diligently on his memoir. By this point, he was mostly confined to a wheelchair, and his attention span would often drift away—losing a thought like a cloud floating across the sky. But every day, he recorded a “chapter” into his iPad. (Sometimes, he recorded whole conversations with my mother or the nightly news, but that’s a different blog post.) His intention was never to publish his recollections, but I imagine he wanted to leave behind his final assessment of the life he’d led: How much he loved us (he had six children), how full and unexpected his time on this planet was (he had three careers), and how endlessly thrilling his marriage was (after eleven proposals, they were married fifty-one years).
When we started Housecraft Books, I knew the custom family history book I would make about my parents' house would include his memoir. Amid the pages of the life they created together—in a home my father bought without fully consulting my mother (she thought it too expensive), filled with the treasures they collected as they traveled the world—we included a section dedicated to my dad’s manuscript.
He recalls picking up his older brother Phillip from Fort Dix after Phillip returned from the war, where he survived Normandy. My dad was seven; Phil was nineteen. He writes about the birth of his children, the times he succeeded, and the many times he failed—and lived to tell the tale. (My definition of wisdom.) Editing that text and selecting the photos to run alongside it has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. And this year, everyone—one wife, six children, nine grandchildren, and three beloved nephews—will receive a copy of this family heirloom at our annual Hanukkah party.
At Housecraft Books, our work stems from a simple premise: the world moves too fast. (I’ve officially become one of those people who stops young parents to warn them how fast it actually moves.) Instagram reels tell us to slow down and savor the moment—but even those thoughts are gone with the flick of a thumb.
Our goal is to create custom books, family memoirs and photographic artifacts that outlast your favorite social media platform—treasured keepsakes that contain the exact moments in time you’re desperate to freeze. We don’t merely photograph your home or assemble traditional family albums; we give voice to your memories, turning your life stories into tangible legacies. Ultimately, we aim to present you with an artifact just as meaningful and full of love as the family history book I made for my own father.
