If your goal in publishing a memory book is to tell family history, there are many approaches.
A basic book might start with a family group and in succeeding pages tell their individual stories. So you could start with great-grandparents and go up to the current family. Imagine how welcome this would be at a family reunion.
Specialty books focus on one element or talent of the family. If your family has a history of sports, crafts, or cooking, you could tell the family history through this lens. You might want to publish your family recipe book, for example.
Profile books feature one person and his or her history. You find these made many times as memorials after the person has passed away.
Heirloom books share pictures and stories about family keepsakes and who has them.
For genealogical research, a descendant tree book is a great way to save your research, complete with footnotes. The numbered genealogical systems such as Gedcom will be of interest mainly to future genealogists, but they can preserve the years of work that went into building a family tree.
Vacation books describe that fabulous trip you finally took, complete with photos and stories.
Archival-quality paper books might outlive software changes so they might be better choices than simple electronic files.
Allyson Good curates senior living, health, and family content. She is formerly the Managing Editor of Active Life, a print newspaper published in 2016-2017 for seniors, choosing practical articles on health, money, safety, and everyday living for older readers. She is also an avid gardener and offers up Garden Hints and Tips on a regular basis.
