One Million Stories

How my grandfather inspired me to start StoryTerrace

I loved my grandfather’s stories. The room filled with cigar smoke, I would listen to tale after tale as we played backgammon together. I loved to hear about his adventures with his football team, or the time he met my grandmother.

As a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II, he certainly had some tales to share. Tales full of laughter, wisdom, and life lessons that shaped who I became as I grew up.

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Today Story Terrace works with over 500 writers worldwide

Sadly, when my grandfather passed away, I realized that the details of those old stories had faded. I had missed the chance to make a record of his life–to write down those stories as only he could tell them.

There were so many questions I wished I had asked. So much I could have learned about how he faced the challenges I was approaching as an adult. And I wished I could show him how important those boyhood stories truly were to me.

It made me wonder - Why don’t we capture the stories of the people we care about the most?”

Today, this is a common problem. We have Facebook pages, and old home movies and photo albums. But these are often left scattered in boxes, on old computers and discarded and broken phones - and they often don’t tell the important stories.

 
"We want to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to capture their story in a meaningful way."
 

It’s this inspiration that made me give up my day job a few years ago and start Story Terrace.

At this very moment, we are working with hundreds of people to capture the stories that matter to them, using our global network of over 500 ghostwriters.

Entrepreneurs, refugees, beloved parents and grandparents. Doctors, teachers, volunteers and survivors. Family business owners. People like you and me, capturing their unique heritage and creating a legacy for future generations.

After helping so many people bring their stories to life, we know that everyone has a story to tell

That's why we are a company with big ambitions. We are aiming to turn 1 million real-life stories into books in the next decade - because we want to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to capture their story in a meaningful way.

So, welcome to the Story Terrace family. Whether you want to record your own story, or capture the memories of a loved one, I can’t wait to see what we create together.

I am Rutger Bruining, Founder and CEO of Story Terrace, and I hope that together we can change the way that history is written.

 

Written by Rutger Bruining

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