What's a Raconteur?
A person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way; a storyteller; a narrator
Preserving Lives and Legacies
We conduct in-home interviews and produce heirloom life story books for families to cherish.
Tell Your Story
What We Do
Our expert writers work one-on-one with every storyteller or couple during intimate interviews and create completely custom, one-of-a-kind life story books. If a loved one has passed away, our writers interview family and friends in order to create a tribute book that captures the life lived.
Life Story Book
The Challenges and Successes of My Life:
The Memoir of M.P. Dumesnil, Jr.
Couple's Life Story Book
I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World:
The Story of Terrel and Juliette Dressel
Click on a book to view inside.
Our Story
Raconteur
Raconteur was born out of the desire to preserve parents' and grandparents’ life stories. Co-founder, Olivia Spallino Savoie, documented her grandmothers’ memories. After seeing what the keepsake memoirs meant to her own family, she began writing life story books for families everywhere.
The saddest sentence I know is ‘I wish I had asked my mother about that.’
~ WILLIAM ZINSSER
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Testimonials
"...It [the interview questions] refreshed memories that I almost forgot. It brought up things I hadn’t told my family before... I thought Olivia was very, very good. The whole book is very informative and sounds very much like me telling about my life. My family loves it. I liked every bit of the book..."
Aline F.
104-year-old Raconteur
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Testimonials
"It was a joy working with Raconteur. I always dreamed of writing my story, but I couldn’t sit down and write it myself. Olivia Savoie being there made my dream come true: to put my life story down on paper to give to my children and grandchildren. Without her, I never could have gotten all my memories in order. Olivia asked me about so many things I never would have thought to put in the book. Now, I can look at the book and reminisce. As I get older, my memory isn’t too good, but the book keeps me going. I can check it to remember trips or special times. Raconteur did a great job."
Gloria W.
Raconteur
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Testimonials
"Because we've [my wife and I] had such a varied background and been to so many places, a lot of them before the children were born, I thought it would be nice if it [our life story] was in writing. I had always thought that I would do it. But I could not have imagined anything that I would do would turn out to be something like this [book]. She [Olivia Savoie] has just done a marvelous job... I got the distinct feeling when I was reading it that I was talking. She had a knack to put me right in the middle of this. I think when my kids read this, this is going to be Dad talking."
Douglas T.
Raconteur
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Testimonials
"We love the book. [We are] so happy that you could do this for Mimi and for all of us. [The book is] such a special memory we will be able to share for many generations."
Mica H.
Granddaughter
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Testimonials
"My thought from the beginning was to produce a written manuscript with which I might surprise my children—that would somewhat describe what life was like in my early years… It is with a great deal of relief and appreciation that I thank Olivia for her focus and leadership in helping bring this task to fruition."
Dr. David F.
Raconteur