Your family's real stories, in a book your kids will ask to read again tomorrow.
A 15-minute phone call becomes a richly illustrated hardcover — your family's true story, with your kid at its center. No apps. No logins. Just a conversation.
Every page illustrated from scratch, from a real moment in their life.
Not a photo book. Not a fill-in-the-blank. A real, custom-illustrated children's book — printed hardcover, built to last a hundred years, tuned to your kid's stage.
Their real voice
Their phrases, their pauses, their humor. Every word traces back to the conversation.
Built for your kid
Calibrated to your child's stage — the words, the pacing, the page count. Made for the kid you have, right now.
Heirloom hardcover
Casewrap binding. Premium stock. Built to be pulled off the shelf decades from now.
Looks like them
Share a photo and we paint the storyteller as themselves — the eyes, the smile, the details only family would notice.
See a full sample in your inbox.
We'll send a real Waymark — every page, every illustration — so you can flip through before you decide.
How it works
So simple, Grandma can do it. No apps. No logins. Just a phone call.
We designed every step to be effortless — for the storyteller telling it, and for the person arranging it.
One
The phone rings.
Grandma picks up. Our AI interviewer — patient, warm, trained to draw stories out of older folks — asks her about her life. A 15-minute conversation. No app. No account. Just a phone call.
Two
We craft.
Our team shapes the conversation into a children's story, illustrated from scratch, calibrated to your child's stage. Her real words. Her real memories.
Three
You approve.
You'll see every page before it prints. Two rounds of revisions — adjust the story, fix a likeness, change an illustration. Most families land it in one.
Four
It arrives.
A heirloom hardcover shipped to your door. 2–4 weeks from first phone call. Something to read tonight. Something to hand down someday.
Grandparent-proof by design. No app downloads. No sign-in screens. No video call setup. If they can pick up a phone, they can tell their story.
Real families. Real books.
Every family comes back to the same word. Closer.
To a grandparent they barely knew. To a parent they're still learning. To the person whose story lives inside their own.
★★★★★
"He carries it with him. He shows everyone. I haven't seen my father that proud in years."
Corey M.
Bought a Waymark for Grandpa Doug
★★★★★
"I cried the whole way through. I didn't know my dad had that story in him."
Wes T.
Dad of two, bought for his kids
★★★★★
"Unbelievable. My 7-year-old asks to read it every single night."
Kate L.
Mom, daughter age 7
Hikers leave small stacks of stones to mark the path — a quiet message to whoever walks it next: I was here. You're still on the path. Keep going.
The people who walked before us leave waymarks too. Not in stone, but in stories.
A Waymark is how we hold one.
For gift-givers
Most of the people who buy a Waymark aren't the ones telling the story.
You might be ordering for a grandparent who'd never do this themselves. For an aunt who showed up when no one else did. For a parent whose time is getting shorter.
Here's how it works when you're the one arranging it.
You tell us who the book is for — and who's telling the story.
We introduce ourselves to the storyteller directly, or you hand us off however feels right.
We handle the whole interview.
No homework for you. The storyteller just talks. Our team handles the rest.
The finished book arrives in your hands, ready to give.
Extra copies at 20% off if cousins, siblings, or the storyteller want their own.
What it costs
One price. No surprises.
A custom children's book illustrator charges $2,000+ for a single commissioned book. A Waymark starts at $55 — because these stories shouldn't only belong to families who can afford a commission.
Add real photos — $70
Upgrade to Premium and we'll illustrate the storyteller from real photos you provide. The likeness only family would notice.
Three Pack — $150
Three books, one story. For siblings, cousins, or the storyteller's own copy. Save when you give more than one.
Our promise
We don't print until you approve.
Every Waymark includes two full rounds of revisions — story, art, likenesses, anything you want to change. You review the complete book before anything ships. And if we can't get it right together, we refund you completely.
Two rounds of revisions
Rewrite a scene. Repaint a face. Swap a color. Until every page is the way you'd tell it yourself.
Review before print
You see the full book before anything ships. Nothing gets printed without your explicit sign-off on every page.
Full refund if you're not moved
If the story we make together doesn't move you, we refund you completely. No forms. No fine print. No questions asked.
Questions
What families ask us.
Most grandparents say yes the moment you tell them the book is for their grandkid. It reframes everything — they're not being interviewed, they're sharing stories with someone who matters. If they're hesitant, we can send them a short note introducing ourselves first. Most families tell us their parent was actually eager once they understood what the call was for.
Every book is calibrated to your child's stage — the words, the pacing, the page count. The stories are real, specific, emotionally resonant, and illustrated beautifully. Our families tell us their kids ask for it at bedtime more than store-bought books.
Then we revise it. Every Waymark includes two full rounds of revisions — and most families land it in one. You'll see every page, every illustration, before anything prints. If you need one more pass, we'll find a way. And if after all that we still can't get there together, we refund you completely. No forms. No fine print.
Almost none. You answer a few questions about who the book is for and who's telling the story. Our AI interviewer handles the call. Our team handles the writing and the art. You review every page before it prints — on your phone, by text, in about 10 minutes per round. Total time commitment: under an hour across 2–4 weeks.
Yes. They just have to pick up the phone. That's it. No app. No login. No video call setup. No software to install. We call them at a scheduled time. They talk for 15 minutes. Then they hang up. The rest is handled on our end.
An AI interviewer — trained on the work of the world's best oral historians, memoirists, and narrative journalists — calls your storyteller and asks the right questions. It's designed for older folks: patient, warm, never rushed. Our human team takes it from there — shaping the narrative, art-directing the illustrations, refining every page. The storyteller is always named as the author. Every book is signed by a human, never by a machine.
Four to six weeks from the first conversation to the book on your shelf. The interview takes about an hour total. Story drafting takes a week. Illustrations take two to three weeks. Revisions and printing take another week. Rush options are available for birthdays and holidays — reach out if you have a deadline.
Yes — we do this all the time. We can introduce ourselves to the storyteller directly under a cover story of your choosing (a "family history project," an "interview about their life"). The book arrives in your hands, ready to give. Many families wrap it up for Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or a milestone birthday.
Click "Create a Waymark" anywhere on this page. Tell us who the story is for and who's telling it. We'll reach out within 24 hours to schedule the interview — or send them an invite if the book is a gift. From there, we handle everything.
There isn't always more time.
The waymarks the people you love are trying to leave for you — they deserve to outlive the people who carry them.