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How to Start a Legacy Journal and Write Your Life Story, One Prompt at a Time
How to Legacy Journal is the book that gets a life story out of a person’s memory and onto the page. Part I shows you how to start a legacy journal, Part II gives you 210 legacy journal prompts for seniors, and the hardcover and paperback give you writing pages so you can answer them right inside the book.
The stories are already there: the first job, the house you grew up in, the day you met the person you married, the year everything changed and the lesson it cost you. What has been missing is a place to begin and one clear question to answer. This book gives you both, and it makes the first page the easiest one you will write.
It is also the book that made Gabriel Killian the #1 author in Journal Writing on Amazon.
How to Legacy Journal by Gabriel Killian is a step-by-step guide to writing your life story, with 210 legacy journal prompts for seniors and lined writing pages, sold on Amazon in hardcover ($24.95), paperback ($15.99) and Kindle ($4.99).
- Is How to Legacy Journal a fill-in journal? How to Legacy Journal is a guide and a prompt book, not a fill-in journal: Part I teaches the method, Part II gives the prompts, and the hardcover and paperback add lined writing pages for your answers.
- Who is How to Legacy Journal for? How to Legacy Journal is for any adult who wants their life story kept in their own words. It is written with seniors and aging parents in mind, for adult children who want to give a parent or grandparent the structure to begin, and for younger readers too: the author wrote his own legacy journal before age 45.
- How do you start a legacy journal? To start a legacy journal, pick one prompt, write for ten minutes without stopping, and finish with one sentence about what you want the reader to take from it. How to Legacy Journal walks you through this first entry step by step.
- What should you write in a legacy journal? A legacy journal holds your stories, beliefs, lessons, traditions and letters to the people you love, and How to Legacy Journal organizes these into ten themed sections of writing prompts for seniors.
- Does How to Legacy Journal work with other legacy journals? The prompts in How to Legacy Journal work with any legacy journal or a blank notebook, and they pair with the companion journal, Should Tomorrow Never Come.
- What comes free with How to Legacy Journal? Every copy of How to Legacy Journal includes the Bonus Vault: a digital copy of Should Tomorrow Never Come, 100 more legacy journal prompts, printable planning tools, and Solace, a free writing helper.
You do not need to be a writer. Every prompt is one question, and your first entry takes about twenty minutes.
Worried it will become one more book of questions on a shelf? How to Legacy Journal teaches the method before it asks you anything: what to write, how to write a scene instead of a summary, and what to do on the days the words will not come. Then it gives you the prompts one question at a time, and the hardcover and paperback end with writing pages so your answers live in the same book. It works on its own, or beside any legacy journal you already own. It is a guide that walks you through each answer, not only a list of questions.
Hardcover: a gift for a parent or grandparent, or a copy to keep.
Paperback: writing your own story, page by page.
Kindle: reading the guide tonight and writing in any notebook.
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Free Guide: How to Start a Legacy Journal
Not ready to buy? Start with this free guide to your first week of legacy journaling. It covers:
- Why to write a legacy journal, and what it means to your family
- A seven-day plan for your first week of writing
- A prompt from How to Legacy Journal for each day
- What to do on the days the words do not come
How to Legacy Journal Video: Write Your Life Story for Your Family
What is inside How to Legacy Journal, the free Bonus Vault, and the Legacy Journal Set. 1 minute 33 seconds.
What Is Inside How to Legacy Journal
How to Legacy Journal is built in three parts, and each one does a different job for you. Part I teaches you how. Part II gives you what to write about. Part III gives you a place to write it. Every section opens on a framed page with a hand-drawn illustration and a quote chosen for that section, from Marcus Aurelius and Seneca to Ernest Hemingway, so the book reads like a guided journey rather than a worksheet.
Part I: How to Legacy Journal, the Method
Nine short sections take you from “I would not know where to start” to your first finished page:
- What Is a Legacy Journal? A clear answer to what you are making and why it matters to the people who will read it.
- What Can I Put in It? Stories, letters, lessons, recipes, sketches and photographs with your own words beside them.
- Writing Tips for Deep and Authentic Journaling. How to write in scenes instead of summaries, so a reader can see the moment you lived.
- Breaking Through Writer’s Block. What to do on the days the words will not come, starting with a single word.
- How to Use Solace as a Private Companion. A free writing helper for any page where you feel stuck.
- How to Share This Journal With Your Family. When to share, how to share, and what to keep private.
- What If I Don’t Think My Life Is “Important Enough”? Written for anyone who has asked, “Who would want to remember me?”
- Using This Book Alongside Genealogy Tools. How to add the feelings and stories behind the names and dates in a family tree.
- How to Use These Prompts, ending with your first legacy entry, step by step, in about twenty minutes.
Part II: 210 Legacy Journal Prompts
Part II is the heart of the book: 210 numbered legacy journal prompts in ten themed sections, from who you are and who you loved to what you hope for the people who come after you. You can go in order, jump to whatever stands out, or answer one prompt a week. Halfway through, the book points you to 100 more prompts waiting in your free Bonus Vault.
Each section opens with an illustration and a quote. The writing pages are in the hardcover and paperback.
Part III: Your Legacy in Your Words
The hardcover and paperback end with lined writing pages, each with a line for the Prompt No. and the Date, so your answers live in the same book as the questions. The Kindle edition carries the full guide and every prompt, and points you to the free digital copy of Should Tomorrow Never Come to write your answers in.
Free Bonuses Included With How to Legacy Journal
The book is only part of what you get. Every copy of How to Legacy Journal, in every format, comes with free access to the Memorial Merits Bonus Vault. One sign-up sends everything to your inbox, and four of the bonuses would be worth having on their own:
- A digital copy of Should Tomorrow Never Come. The companion legacy journal as a printable PDF, sold separately for $9.99. Print the pages at home and write your answers by hand.
- 100 more legacy journal prompts, on top of the 210 in the book, for when you finish and want to keep going.
- The Letters to Loved Ones Template Kit, for the letters you have been meaning to write to a spouse, a child or a grandchild.
- Solace, your free writing helper, open 24 hours a day with no sign-up. Tell her what you are writing about and she will give you new prompts, a first sentence, or a way past the page you are stuck on.
The vault also holds the Emergency Information Organizer, the Final Wishes Conversation Starter Guide, the Family Heritage and Traditions Recorder, the Annual Legacy Review Checklist, and a list of trusted websites and services. No other legacy journal guide that we know of comes with a free companion journal, a writing helper and a full set of planning tools.
How to Legacy Journal as a Gift for a Parent or Grandparent
Picture your mother at her kitchen table with the hardcover open to a prompt she has already circled. She is not wondering where to start anymore, because the question in front of her is “Describe your happiest childhood memory in detail,” and she knows exactly which summer she wants to write about. A month from now there are pages in her handwriting that did not exist before. A year from now there is a book your children will read.
That is what you are giving. How to Legacy Journal gives a parent or grandparent the structure, the prompts and the permission to finally begin. It suits the person who has said “someone should write all this down” and never known how, and the person who swears their life was not interesting enough to write about. Section 7 of Part I was written for exactly that person.
- The hardcover is the gift edition: 7 by 10 inches, built to be written in and kept, with the writing pages inside.
- It is a guide with prompts and writing pages, not a fill-in memory book, so it works for a parent who wants to write freely and at their own pace.
- It makes the legacy journal you give actually get filled in. The book says it plainly: if you give someone a legacy journal, give this book with it. The journal holds the answers. How to Legacy Journal gives the person writing them the method and the prompts, so the pages do not stay blank. It works with any legacy journal they already own, or with Should Tomorrow Never Come.
- It shows them how to share the stories now, not someday. Section 6 walks the writer through sharing the journal with family: reading entries aloud together, sharing one section at a time, or sitting down one on one. Each entry becomes a conversation you can have together, with questions you can ask and the details behind each entry.
- The free bonuses come with it. Write the Bonus Vault address in your card and they can claim everything themselves.
- It is a gift for yourself, too, at any age. You do not need to be a grandparent to start. The author wrote his own legacy journal before 45.
The Legacy Journal Set: How to Legacy Journal and Should Tomorrow Never Come
A legacy journal holds the answers. How to Legacy Journal teaches the writer how to give them. Together they are the complete set: the method, the prompts and the journal, written by the same author to work as one. Part II of How to Legacy Journal carries the subtitle “For Any Legacy Journal, Including Should Tomorrow Never Come,” because the two books were made for each other.
Here is everything in the set:
- Should Tomorrow Never Come, Legacy Edition: the guided legacy journal with room for your life story, your letters to the people you love, and the wishes your family will need.
- How to Legacy Journal: the step-by-step method and 210 prompts, so no page in the journal is left blank because the words would not come.
- The Bonus Vault: the digital copy, 100 more prompts, the Letters to Loved Ones Template Kit and every planning tool.
- Solace: the free writing helper, for both books.
Already own a legacy journal from another brand? How to Legacy Journal works with it. Use Part I to learn how to write deeper answers, and turn to the prompts whenever a page in your journal leaves you stuck.
Legacy Journal Prompts for Seniors: Sample Prompts From the Book
These are real legacy journal prompts for seniors, taken word for word from Part II. Each one is a single question, so you only ever have to answer one thing at a time. Here are two from each of six sections:
Foundational Reflections
- What three words would you want people to use when describing you?
- Describe the moment your life changed direction forever.
Relationships and Love
- Write a letter to your children about what you hope for their future.
- Write about a friend who changed your life.
Wisdom and Life Lessons
- What life lesson took you the longest to learn?
- Write about a mistake that became your greatest teacher.
Memories and Moments
- Describe your happiest childhood memory in detail.
- What holiday tradition means the most to you and why?
Practical Wisdom
- What practical skill are you most proud of mastering?
- Describe wisdom you’d share about managing money.
Looking Forward
- Write a letter to your future self ten years from now.
- What would you tell your great-grandchildren about this era?
That is twelve. The book has 210 writing prompts for seniors, and the Bonus Vault adds 100 more. They read just as well as journal prompts for seniors who already keep a diary and want it to say more. If any of these made you think of a story you have never written down, the rest of the book is waiting for you.
How to Start a Legacy Journal in Seven Steps
The hardest part of a legacy journal is the first page, so the book shows you how to start a legacy journal before you ever write a word. These are the first-entry steps from Section 9 of How to Legacy Journal, and your first entry takes about twenty minutes.
- Claim your free bonuses. Open the Bonus Vault link at the front of the book and enter your email. The digital journal, the extra prompts and the planning tools arrive in your inbox.
- Pick one prompt. Turn to Part II and choose the first prompt that makes you pause. In the hardcover and paperback, tick the circle beside it.
- Write the prompt number and the date. In the hardcover or paperback, turn to a writing page in Part III and fill in the Prompt No. and Date lines. With the Kindle edition, use a notebook, any legacy journal you own, or the free digital copy of Should Tomorrow Never Come.
- Set a timer for ten minutes and write without stopping. Spelling and grammar do not matter yet.
- Start with a scene. Write where you were, who was there, and one thing you could see, hear or smell.
- Say what it meant. Finish with one sentence that begins, “What I want you to take from this is…”
- Sign it and leave it. Put your name under it, read it once tomorrow, and do it again next week with a new prompt.
That is a legacy entry. One a week becomes fifty-two by next year, and every one of them is a story your family would never have heard otherwise. How to Legacy Journal turns how to start a legacy journal from a question you keep putting off into a twenty-minute decision.
What to Write in a Legacy Journal
If you have ever opened a legacy journal and wondered what you are supposed to write, the ten sections of Part II answer that for you. This is what to write in a legacy journal, laid out in the order a life is lived:
| Section in the book | What you write about |
|---|---|
| Foundational Reflections | Who you are, what you believe, and the moments that changed your direction |
| Relationships and Love | Family traditions, the friends who shaped you, and the person you married |
| Purpose and Contribution | Your life’s work and the ways you served other people |
| Wisdom and Life Lessons | The lessons that took the longest and the hard years you came through |
| Memories and Moments | Childhood, holidays and the small daily things you loved |
| Dreams and Aspirations | What you still want to do and what you hope to leave behind |
| Spiritual and Philosophical Reflections | Meaning, faith and the principles you lived by |
| Practical Wisdom | Skills, money and what you learned about getting along with people |
| Looking Forward | Your hopes for the world and messages to people not yet born |
| Final Reflections | Making peace with your choices, how you want to be remembered, and letters to each person you love most |
You do not have to cover all ten. Even a handful of these, in your own words and handwriting, will mean a great deal to the people you love. Whatever legacy journal you use, How to Legacy Journal answers what to write in a legacy journal on every page, so you never stare at a blank one. For letters in particular, see how to write a legacy letter, and for the bigger picture, what legacy journaling is.
How to Write Your Life Story With Writing Prompts for Seniors
Nobody writes a life story in one sitting. You write it the way How to Legacy Journal is built: one question, one memory, one page at a time. Answer one of these writing prompts for seniors each week, and in a year you have a life story in your own words, organized by the ten themes of a life.
That is how to write your life story without it ever feeling like a project. Part I gives you the writing help that makes those pages worth reading:
- Write like you are talking to someone you love. Your voice on the page is the part your family will treasure most.
- Write in scenes, not summaries. The book shows how “My father was a good man who worked hard” becomes a father at the kitchen table after dinner, his work clothes smelling of sawdust, helping with homework.
- Done is better than perfect. The book gives you permission to write badly first and better later.
Then picture the book six months from now, sitting on the shelf with the corners worn and dozens of pages filled. Your grandchildren will know how you met your husband or wife, what your first job paid, and what you would tell them about being their age. That is what learning how to write your life story gives the people who love you. If you would rather speak your stories than write them, see how to record your life story, and use this book’s prompts as your questions.
Memoir Writing Prompts and Life Story Prompts for Older Adults
If you have ever thought about writing a memoir, How to Legacy Journal is the easiest way to start one. Its prompts work as memoir writing prompts for older adults: each answer is a short chapter, and the ten sections give your memoir its shape before you write a single word.
- Built for life story writing, not for fiction or classroom exercises, so every prompt is about your own life.
- Section 8 connects your stories to your family tree, so the names and dates from your genealogy research finally have the stories behind them.
- Clear themed sections and a clean layout that is easy to read and easy to come back to.
Whether you finish with a memoir, a life story for your grandchildren, or a handful of pages your family will keep, these life story prompts give you the structure that memoir writing prompts on their own leave out.
Questions to Ask Your Parents and Grandparents
The prompts in this book also work out loud. Bring How to Legacy Journal to your next visit, read a prompt as a question, and let your parent or grandparent answer. Write their answer down, or record it on your phone and type it up later. A single Sunday afternoon can give you stories nobody in your family has heard.
A few questions to ask your parents and grandparents, drawn from the book’s prompts and phrased as questions:
- What is your happiest childhood memory?
- When did you know you had found the one?
- What lesson took you the longest to learn?
- What tradition do you hope our family keeps?
- What would you tell your great-grandchildren about the world you grew up in?
Grandchildren use the same list as questions to ask your grandparents on a phone call or a holiday visit, and caregivers and activity directors use them as reminiscence questions for seniors in a group. This is not an interview book, and it is better for it: the prompts reach past the facts to the feelings and lessons behind them. For a shorter list built for that conversation, see the 12 most important questions every parent should answer.
Hardcover, Paperback or Kindle: Which Format to Buy
All three formats carry the same guide and the same 210 prompts, and all three include the free Bonus Vault. They differ in size, price and whether you write in the book itself.
| Format | Price | Best for | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | $24.95 | A gift for a parent or grandparent, or a copy you want to keep | 7 x 10 inches, 129 pages, lined writing pages |
| Paperback | $15.99 | Writing your own story, page by page | 6 x 9 inches, 140 pages, lined writing pages |
| Kindle | $4.99, free with Kindle Unlimited | Starting tonight | The full guide and every prompt, no writing pages |
The hardcover and paperback are sold and shipped by Amazon, with Amazon’s 30-day returns. Every format includes the free bonuses.
Amazon Reviews of Gabriel Killian’s Books
How to Legacy Journal is rated 4.6 out of 5 on Amazon. Here is what readers say, in their own words:
Screenshots from Amazon. Read every How to Legacy Journal review on Amazon
Already own the book? Leave an honest review on Amazon. A photo of a page or two shows the next reader what is inside.
About Gabriel Killian, the #1 Author in Journal Writing on Amazon
How to Legacy Journal is the book that made Gabriel Killian the #1 author in Journal Writing on Amazon. Gabriel is the founder of Memorial Merits, the creator of the Solace writing helper, and the author of the Should Tomorrow Never Come legacy journals. He is a US Navy veteran and a US Navy Certified Instructor, Missile Defense Systems.
I wrote this book for two reasons. The first is the people I love. I never want them to wonder how I felt about them, or to be left with words I never said. The second is the stories I will never have. My father, Monte, passed suddenly after complications from heart surgery, and my grandmother, Shirley Robinson, passed a short time later, shortly before I began this book. I would give anything to hold one page of either of their stories in their own words. That chance is gone, and there is no asking later.
I was under 45 when I wrote my own legacy journal. I did not write it because I felt old. I wrote it because I learned how quickly the time to ask can pass, and once it has passed, there are no second chances. I feel the weight of what these pages can hold because I know what it is to be without them, and I want your loved ones to have what I cannot.
This book is dedicated to my grandmother’s memory. If it helps you leave something your children, and their children, can hold on to and keep, then it has done its job.
That is why every page of this book is built to get you writing, and why it comes with more help than any book of its kind that we know of. Your story deserves to be held in your own words. How to Legacy Journal makes sure it will be. See all of Gabriel Killian’s books.
How to Legacy Journal FAQ
Is How to Legacy Journal a good gift for a parent or grandparent?▾
Do I need a separate legacy journal to use How to Legacy Journal?▾
What is the difference between How to Legacy Journal and Should Tomorrow Never Come?▾
Is How to Legacy Journal only for seniors?▾
Does the Kindle edition of How to Legacy Journal have writing pages?▾
How do I get the free bonuses that come with How to Legacy Journal?▾
How long does it take to write a legacy journal with How to Legacy Journal?▾
What if I do not think my life is interesting enough to write about?▾
Is Solace hard to use for someone who is not good with technology?▾
Is a legacy journal a legal document?▾
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