Fear of death entails many things, not the least of which being the loss of a lifetime’s worth of experience and gathered wisdom, of love and things unsaid. With the opening of Your Living Memories, personal historian Curt Werner wants to help aging area residents preserve these thoughts, memories and stories for posterity with all the professional presentation and polish they deserve.

A retired journalist, Werner spent 25 years traveling and writing for national trade publications before retiring in 2006 and pivoting to work in assisted and senior living communities in Sarasota, ostensibly in sales and marketing but in close contact with the residents nonetheless. “I heard all these interesting stories,” Werner recalls, “but what could I do with them? Everybody’s got an important life and it’s a matter of exposing that.” He wasn’t about to write a book, but knew he’d hit on something.

The answer manifested in Your Living Memories, opened two months ago and offering Werner’s talents as a journalist towards the creation of personal histories. Projects vary, but all begin with a free and casual one-hour consultation at a small café where he and the client can chat, "to build trust,” says Werner. From there, it’s up to the client’s wishes, whims, imagination and pocketbook. Some want their whole family’s history in a book; others are looking for a simple transcribed interview touching on key points and ideas that they want to preserve. Still others can opt for a full multimedia presentation with video and recorded interviews. No matter the package, the end result is a personal historical artifact beyond the conventional scrapbook and heirloom in the making.

Prices can range from $100 to $10,000, but Werner points out that, in addition to each representing sometimes months of interviewing and writing and editing, each also represents something overlooked while present, but priceless once lost.

“People wait too long—they wait until their parents can’t, until they’re gone,” says Werner. Even though it’s the older population who feels the urgency to preserve their thoughts, it’s the next generation, he says, that will benefit. “I wish I had my dad’s audio, his video,” he continues wistfully. “But I don’t.”