No Story Lost: Preserving Family Memories

Amidst the technological storm of digital, somewhere in the middle, emotions and humaneness are lost. 

This is why the significance of preserving family stories and legacies has never been more critical than it is in an era where digital distractions are abundant. This is where No Story Lost, a unique and innovative venture co-founded by cousins Andrew Hall and Jeremy Bryant, enters the picture. Their personal experience underscored the value and challenges of recording their grandfather’s life story, which motivated them to develop a service that could help other families do the same.

The Origins of No Story Lost

Interestingly enough, No Story Lost’s journey began with a deeply personal quest: documenting their grandfather’s life story. The experience was enriching and illuminated the potential for this endeavour to be time-consuming and labour-intensive without the right tools and support. Fueled by this realization, they established No Story Lost, a company committed to assisting families in preserving their histories through professionally written,  designed, and printed memoirs.

In fact, Andrew Hall, the co-founder of No Story Lost, shares a deep love for storytelling and a profound understanding of the human value that these projects hold. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys travelling, sports, and spending quality time with friends and family. His personal experiences and interests have significantly shaped the company’s approach to making the preservation of family memories both meaningful and accessible.

A Shared Vision and Diverse Expertise

In fact, Jeremy Bryant’s path to co-founding No Story Lost includes a job change motivated by a desire for greater influence. Starting out as an auditor at a Big Four accounting company, Jeremy partnered with his cousin  Andrew and co-founded Mealshare, a nonprofit supplying approximately 6 million meals to underprivileged youngsters. His experience with Mealshare, along with a sabbatical spent designing and building a home, provided Jeremy with the skills and vision required to co-create No Story Lost.

What’s more, Jeremy, who resides in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife, Emily, harmoniously balances his professional pursuits and his passion for the outdoors. He frequently embarks on hikes in the Rocky Mountains. His dedication to purpose and passion has been the impetus behind No Story Lost’s mission to assist families in preserving their loved ones’ most meaningful stories, memories, and advice.

Personal Connections and Impactful Storytelling

Manifestly, No Story Lost offers a distinctive experience  that resonates profoundly with families who are interested in preserving their legacies. A personal anecdote shared by a client who utilized their service to compose a memoir for their father, Herb Tyler, a cinematographer with a distinguished career in broadcast news, serves as a testament to the influence of their work. The culmination of this project was a cherished coffee table book that resulted from extensive recorded audio interviews, the curation of photos, press credentials, and special memories from colleagues. 

The journey of writing this book for Herb and his daughters was emotional,  therapeutic and an illuminating experience of delving deeper into the life of their father. . The initiative not only captured the spirit of Herb Tyler’s career, but it also helped him connect more deeply with himself as a 71-year-old reflecting on his life, and bring new connection, perspective and to his daughters, partner and admiration for his former colleagues and peers in his field.  . This anecdote demonstrates the enormous influence that No Story Lost can have on its customers.

Herb Tyler says, “Initially daunted by the idea of documenting my travel tales and cherished memories, the prospect of writing a book seemed overwhelming and unfamiliar. It wasn’t until a friend mentioned No Story Lost, that everything fell into place. With my daughter Ashley’s initiative, I connected with their team, where a dedicated producer guided me through weekly interviews, shaping my experiences into structured chapters. With the support of a dedicated writer, and the invaluable assistance of my daughter Jacqueline, we transformed drafts into a final printed memoir after meticulous collaboration. This concept is fantastic as everyone has a story, big or small that needs to be preserved for their family. With the team, and my daughters efforts, we now have memories for years and years to come that are permanently etched in print. I was blown away with the finished product.”

Andrew and Jeremy’s business partnership has received substantial attention, including appearances on Dragons’ Den and being on the backup list for Amazing Race Canada. Their commitment to assisting hundreds of families in preserving their legacy demonstrates their conviction in the power of narrative. Ultimately, they have built No Story Lost to encapsulate the past into long-lasting treasures, promising that no story is actually lost.

“A big surprise we’ve had with the business is the range of clients that we’ve already gotten to work with. We wrote a book about a two-year-old (through interviews with his parents) and have also worked with people in their late 90s. We’ve had clients from Australia, to middle America, the Middle East, Africa… every continent actually! In addition to the Canadian customers we set out to serve in the first place,” Andrew says. “That tells us there isn’t really a wrong time to capture stories. If there’s a milestone birthday or anniversary, that’s great – but any time someone has stories and great experiences, there’s a meaningful book there.”

WHAT HAVE YOU LOVED MOST ABOUT WORKING WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS/HOW YOU ARE HELPING THEM?

Andrew and Jeremy’s favourite part of running No Story Lost (aside from doing strategy sessions together as best pals), is when they get a chance to give feedback on a book and get to read the amazing, funny, heartwarming and intriguing stories that their clients have shared. It helps them remember that every person really does have valuable stories to share.

ANY ADVICE FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR? 

Andrew is also a life coach, a practice in which he helps entrepreneurs be happier and get more of what they want. He shares insights from his coaching certification in addition to countless lessons learned from his career, which he has encapsulated in a self-published book.

Intrigued? Check out their website here for more information.