Founding families: £49 for the first year · Opens February 2027
Family stories, kept for good

Ask them while you still can.

Press record while Mum, Dad or Nonna talks. Their words go into your private family tree, and into a book you keep.

Join as a founding family, £49Try the example familyOpens February 2027. Full refund if we are late.

Tap a question to try it. Get all twelve, free

How it works

Three parts, one place.

How we use AI

Speech is turned into text as they talk, and follow-up questions and life-story drafts are written with AI (Claude, by Anthropic). Recordings are not used to train AI, and nothing is shown to the family until you approve it.

The example family's tree on a phone: Rosa Marchetti, her husband Giulio, their son Marco and granddaughter Sofia Rosa's page on a phone, with her life story in her own words A page from the example family's book: Giulio Bellini and Rosa Marchetti, with a quote from her interview
A made-up example family.Open full screen
The book

Their stories, in a book you keep.

A PDF today. Printed copies coming.

Cover: The Bellini and Hart family book, 1904 to 2026
Chapter opener for the Bellini side of the family
The Bellini family tree, with dashed boxes for ancestors nobody knows yet
Life stories of Giulio Bellini and Rosa Marchetti, with a quote in her own words
Rosa's interview answers about Sunday lunch and meeting her husband
A timeline of births, marriages and deaths by decade

Two ways to start

Give it, or start it yourself.

  1. Buy it todayA printable card and twelve questions, straight away.
  2. Hand it over on the dayThe questions get them talking.
  3. Their tree opens in FebruaryDan sets it up with them.
See the gift, £49
First 100 families
“I built this for our two families, from Sicily and Aberdeenshire, to keep the Sunday table stories. Now I will set up 100 more families myself.”
Dan, founder
Founding family
£49first year, then £49 a year for as long as you stay
  • The whole family: unlimited relatives, photos and recordings
  • Guided interviews, life-story drafts and the family book
  • Dan brings your Ancestry tree across for you
Join as a founding family, £49Give it as a present
  • Not open by 31 March 2027? Automatic refund
  • Full refund up to 30 days after it opens
  • Your stories are yours to download
  • No tech skills needed

Your year starts when your tree opens. Founding price until 100 families or 31 January 2027. Paid through Gumroad, with a reminder before any renewal. Terms.

Questions

Before you join

When can I start?

Founding families are let in from February 2027, in small groups. Dan emails you your family's private link and brings your Ancestry tree across for you. Your year starts the day your tree opens, not the day you pay.

What if it is late, or not for us?

If your tree is not open by 31 March 2027, you get an automatic full refund. Once it opens, you can ask for a full refund for any reason up to 30 days later.

Who can see our family's tree?

Only the people you invite. You decide who can add things, and you approve every change. Living relatives can hide their dates and places from everyone except you. Nothing is ever public or sold.

Do relatives need to pay, or make an account?

They never pay: one membership covers the whole family. During early access, relatives open your family's private link and sign in with a free account before they can see the tree. The hosted version we are building will let them join with just a link sent to their email.

Does it use AI?

Yes, in a few clearly marked places. Speech is turned into text as they talk, and suggested follow-up questions and life-story drafts are written with AI. The writing uses Claude, by Anthropic. Recordings are not used to train AI. Nothing an AI writes is shown to the family until you have read it, and you approve every word.

I already have a tree on Ancestry. Do I start again?

No. Download your tree as a GEDCOM file from Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch or Findmypast, and everyone comes across with their dates and places. Founding families can send Dan the file and he will do it for you. You keep your Ancestry account if you want it for records.

More questions
How do the interviews work?

Open a relative's page on your phone and press Interview. Read each question out loud and let them answer, up to four minutes each. Their words are written down as they speak, and you can fix anything that comes out wrong. When you are done, a short life story is drafted from the answers for you to edit.

What does the person I give it to receive?

Straight away, a printable gift card and a sheet of twelve questions to ask, so there is something to hand over on the day. When their tree opens in February 2027, they get their family's private link and Dan helps them set it up. Their year starts then.

When will I be charged again?

Not before a year after your tree opens. We email you before any renewal, and the price stays £49 a year for as long as you stay. If you decide not to carry on, you can download everything first.

What if you close down?

You get at least 90 days notice and a full download of everything: the tree as a GEDCOM file that other family tree apps can open, and every photo, recording and story.

Step families, adoptions and families from anywhere?

Yes. Parents can be marked as birth, step, adoptive or foster parents, or guardians, and second marriages sit side by side. Places anywhere in the world go on the family map, and every screen works in English, Italian, Spanish and Sicilian.

Is this a DNA service?

No. We do not test DNA or sell access to records. Telling Roots is for the people you know and the stories they carry.

Not ready yet?

Get the free twelve questions to ask, and we will tell you when we open.

Every family has someone who remembers.

Join as a founding family, £49Give it as a present

Tell Dan what you think

Two minutes, honest answers help most.

Would you pay £49 for this?