"Spent some time interviewing my mother-in-law with the Tend & Tell bank of questions. She is loving this walk down memory lane!"— Robin, our very first Founding Family, at the kitchen table where it all happens
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TEND & TELL
Tend the memories. Tell the story.
For the first thirty families
Become a Founding Family
Our first edition is limited to thirty numbered family books — the First Planting. When the thirty are spoken for, it closes. Numbers are never reissued.
First Planting · limited to 30 numbered books
Choose your planting
Gather Membership
$69
per year · founding rate, held forever
- A year in the garden — gentle guided questions, answered by typing or talking
- Your finished book as a beautiful digital edition, shareable with family
- Printed hardcovers available anytime at founding copy prices
Most loved
Sapling
$99
everything below, once
- Everything in Gather Membership
- One numbered First Planting hardcover — printed in time for Christmas giving
- A personal tending session with a real editor
- Your family's name planted in our story
Orchard
$129
for the gift-givers
- Everything in Sapling
- A second hardcover — because one book always wants to become two
The classic edition is printed in rich black & white with an elegant serif interior. The full-color edition prints every photo in color — $30 more per book. Additional copies and family gift packs open at founding prices when your book is finished.
Printed in every First Planting book
"This book was among the first thirty ever tended and told.
Founding Family Edition · No. __ of 30 · First Planting, MMXXVI"
When the thirty are spoken for, the First Planting closes — numbers are never reissued.
Questions, answered gently
What happens after I join?
Your garden opens right away at tendandtell.app/start — no passwords, no downloads. Answer a question whenever one calls to you, ten minutes at a time, typing or telling it out loud to someone you love who types along. Your words save themselves as you go.
When does the printed book arrive?
First Planting books are compiled and tended in November and printed in time for Christmas giving. To make Christmas, your answers should be gathered by early November — six good answers per chapter make a rich book, and most families get there in a few relaxed weeks.
What if we're not finished by November?
Then your book waits for you, not the other way around. Your First Planting number is yours forever, and your book prints whenever your story is ready.
Who actually does the writing?
Whoever tells the story. Some storytellers type their own answers. In many families, a daughter or grandson asks the questions out loud and types while the storyteller talks — our very first Founding Family works exactly that way, at the kitchen table.
Does the price include shipping?
Yes — shipping within the United States is included in every package. Nothing is added at checkout. Shipping outside the U.S. is available by arrangement; just write to us before you order.
Can we include photographs?
Yes — photo support arrives in the garden this fall, before books are compiled. Start gathering your favorites now.
What is a tending session?
An hour with a real editor from our team who reads your gathered stories and helps shape them — drawing out the details worth keeping, smoothing the rough edges, and making sure the book sounds like the person who lived it.
What does "founding price held forever" mean?
Your finished book is yours forever — reading and sharing it never costs a penny more. If you're still writing after your first year, or begin a new volume, you'll always renew at founding rates.
What if we change our minds?
You have 14 days from purchase to decide — full refund, no questions, no hard feelings, with complete access the whole time so you can decide with the real thing in your hands. After that, your place in the First Planting is yours to keep: if life interrupts, your book simply waits and prints whenever your story is ready. Full details in our Purchase Policy.