by Louise Rosati
Since moving into our new home late last year, I’ve found myself strolling unfamiliar streets on my daily walks. Each day brings new scents, new sounds, and my senses are awakened in each hidden corner of our new neighbourhood.
On our street, towering eucalypts stand alongside whispering she-oaks, while birch, ginkgo, and pine trees hint at faraway places – a marvellous mix of origins, just like the people who live here. The homes are equally diverse: some sleek and modern, others lovingly preserved from decades past.
We lived in our previous home for 15 years and I knew every flower and every crack in the pavement as we walked our young children through the streets. Now, all the newness is sparking my attention. I am being asked to feel something as I walk and put new roots down in this lovely place.
But one home on my walk captures my attention. This house spills warmth from its front door, carried along lush green vines winding through crooked wooden trellises to tug at my heartstrings. Two sawn fence palings, held by thick rusted nails, form a homemade wooden cross above the door. I can’t help but smile at the plants in motley pots spilling colour across the front yard. Every inch of this garden has been fashioned for harvest. There is a demand on the earth here – to grow, to produce, to nourish.
On weekends, cars line the driveway, and people pour in and out of this home. I haven’t met the owners yet, but I imagine the weekend bustle is family visiting for Nonno’s limoncello or Nonna’s tomato sugo – rich with love.
The sight of vines and olive trees has always moved me. My ancestral heritage is Irish (with a dash of Italian!), but my husband’s family carries a deep love from Italy; for gardening, vino, and the way food connects you with people in the present and those who came before.
Walking past this abundant home fills me with nostalgia – and the quiet ache of knowing that those who have seen the world with their eyes, long before I saw it with mine, will one day be gone.
It also makes me miss my own grandparents, who left this world when I was young. If I was granted one wish, I would sit under a vine in the warm sun with them, to see their faces and hear their voices. That ache – that nostalgia – is powerful. But nostalgia alone isn’t enough.
We need to act on it.
Because when the voices fade, the stories risk fading too.
We often think of family as a tree: roots and branches, a structured lineage. But stories don’t grow in straight lines. They twist and stretch like a vine, curling between generations, carrying memories through time.
Some stories are lovingly handed down – retold at the dinner table or in quiet car rides. Others are more elusive. Sometimes the storytellers are gone, or the family history is more complex. Yet even then, the past leaves clues – objects, recipes, traditions, fragments of old conversations.
Now is the time to gather those fragments.
So, here is my invitation to you: Let your curiosity lead you. Ask your elders about the objects in their homes. Cook a family recipe together – and write it down. Flip through photo albums and ask, “What was happening here?” Record their voices, if they’re willing. Pay attention to the way they tell their stories – the pauses, the laughter, the emotion.
Because it’s not just about what happened – it’s about how they remember it. Why it mattered. What it meant.
This is why I’m so passionate about preserving stories in voice. At The Story Collection, I help families create personalised audiobooks filled with spoken memories – capturing the laughter, the nuance, the unique tone of a loved one’s voice. It’s a way of keeping them close, even when they’re no longer here.
And I’m not alone in this calling.
Across Australia, professionals are helping families preserve their life stories in meaningful, lasting ways. As members of the Life Stories Australia Association, we are a community of writers, oral historians, audio producers, videographers, and biographers – each dedicated to honouring lives through story. Whether in print, on video, or in audio, we believe in the power of personal storytelling to connect generations, celebrate identity, and leave a legacy.
So let this be your sign: Don’t wait. Start now. While the stories are still being told.
Tend your family vine. Let it bloom, and help it flourish for generations to come.
And if you’d like support along the way, know that there’s a network of passionate professionals ready to help you capture those stories – beautifully, respectfully, and in the format that feels just right for you.
Louise Rosati, Founder of The Story Collection, is a Life Stories Australia NSW member.
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