Why We Started Roots & Story

My father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer.

He has young children. Still young enough that losing a father would shape the rest of their lives. And in the middle of all the fear and uncertainty that comes with a diagnosis like that, one thought kept surfacing.

These kids might grow up without really knowing their dad.

Not without knowing about him. People would tell them stories. They would see photos. They would hear his name spoken with love at family gatherings for the rest of their lives.

But knowing him. His voice. The way he told a story. The things he believed about life and family and what mattered most. The memories he carried from his own childhood. The lessons he wanted to pass on.

That felt like something that could slip away forever.

So we did something about it.

We sat down with him and we recorded his story. We asked him the questions his kids would one day want answered. We let him talk, and laugh, and reflect. We captured his voice on video in a way that a photo never could.

He was our very first interview.

Six months later, he was gone.

I have thought about that a lot since then. About how close we came to not doing it. About how easy it would have been to keep saying we would get to it eventually.

We almost ran out of time.

But we didn't. And because we didn't, his children will grow up and be able to press play someday and hear their dad tell his own story. In his own words. With his own laugh. They will know who he was, not just what people remember about him.

That is why we built Roots & Story.

Not because we saw a market opportunity. Not because we thought it would be a good business. But because we experienced firsthand what it means to capture someone's story before it is too late, and we could not stop thinking about all the families who hadn't done it yet.

My siblings and I each brought something different to this. One of us interviews. One of us films and edits. One of us coordinates. One of us handles the marketing. But we all started from the same place.

We know what it feels like to sit in a room and watch someone you love tell their story on video. We know what it feels like to be grateful beyond words that you did it when you had the chance.

And we know what it feels like when the window closes.

If you are reading this, there is probably someone in your life whose story deserves to be preserved. A parent. A grandparent. Someone who has lived a full life and carries memories and wisdom that no one else in the world has.

You probably already know you should do something about it.

We just want to help you actually do it, before time runs out.

That is the whole story of why we are here.