What is inside

Twelve books, each on one subject a mother can speak to. Eight are memory books: A Long Marriage, Birthdays Remembered, Books and Reading, Family Recipes, Sweethearts and Courting, The Garden, The Kitchen and Your Wedding Day. They are large-print hardcovers, 8.5 x 11 inches, one prompt or activity to a page. Three are memoir journals: Mum, Start at the Beginning; A Lifetime of Growing Things; and The Recipes Nobody Wrote Down. They are 6 x 9 paperbacks, one question to a page. The last is Conversations With Mum at Christmas, a hardcover keepsake journal for the Christmases she remembers and the ones you shared. Prices run from A$54.95 to A$99.95.

Who gives it, and why

Adult children give these for Mother's Day, a significant birthday or a wedding anniversary, when another scarf or candle will not do. Some give a memoir journal and wait for it to come back filled in. Some give a memory book and fill it in together over a few visits, a page at a time. A daughter who wants the family recipes before they are lost gives The Recipes Nobody Wrote Down. Whoever gives it, the family ends up with a book in her handwriting.

How it is made

Every book is printed to order. The memory books and the Christmas keepsake are hardcovers with a case wrap and a matte cover, 8.5 x 11 inches. The memoir journals are perfect-bound paperbacks, 6 x 9 inches. Shipping is free on every order, within Australia and internationally. From our shipping policy: paperback journals and books take approximately 10 to 12 business days, hardcover books approximately 4 weeks, and delivery times are estimates that may be longer for remote destinations or during November and December. Planning a gift? We recommend ordering hardcovers around six weeks ahead and paperbacks around three weeks ahead.

How to choose

• Mum, Start at the Beginning: her whole life, in the order she wants to tell it. Start here.
• The Recipes Nobody Wrote Down: for the dishes she cooks by feel, before the amounts are lost with the cook.
• A Memory Book: Your Wedding Day: one day, remembered out loud. Made for an anniversary.
• A Memory Book: The Kitchen: baking days and the smells that still mean home. Large print, easy to share.
• A Lifetime of Growing Things: for a mother whose garden is the record of her years.
• Conversations With Mum at Christmas: for December, when the family is already in one room.

Questions before you buy

Is the print large?

The eight memory books are large-print editions. The three memoir journals and Conversations With Mum at Christmas are not large print; they are set for ordinary reading and writing.

Can she write in it with a pen?

Yes. Every book on this page is made to be filled in by hand, with a page for each prompt or question. Pen, pencil or a family member taking dictation all work.

How long will it take to arrive?

Each book is printed for your order. Our shipping policy says paperback journals and books take approximately 10 to 12 business days and hardcover books approximately 4 weeks, and that these are estimates which may be longer for remote destinations or during November and December. For a gift, we recommend ordering hardcovers around six weeks ahead and paperbacks around three weeks ahead. Shipping is free.

Which one suits a mother who does not like writing?

A memory book. The large print suits reading the prompt aloud and having someone else write down what she says, so it can be filled in together on a visit rather than left for her to do alone.

What if it arrives damaged?

Our books and journals are printed individually for each order, so we do not accept returns for change of mind. If your book arrives damaged, defective, misbound, misprinted, has missing pages, or is materially different from what you ordered, email us within 30 days of delivery with your order number and clear photos showing the issue.