Highlights from “The Family Stories That Bind Us” with Bruce Feiler Webinar

This webinar featured Remento co-founder and CEO Charlie Greene in conversation with 7-time New York Times bestselling author and Remento storytelling advisor Bruce Feiler on family storytelling, resilience, rituals, and the lasting gift of preserving meaningful memories across generations, inspired by themes from Bruce’s new book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How It Can Save Us. Charlie also shared the story behind Remento, demonstrated how spoken memories become printed Remento keepsake books, and closed the session with a live Q&A on preserving family stories before they’re lost.

Family Storytelling, Resilience, and Emotional Well-Being

Charlie Greene opened the conversation by introducing Bruce Feiler, whose work on family storytelling, emotional well-being, and family connection has shaped how many families think about preserving their stories and memories. Reflecting on Bruce’s influential New York Times article, “The Stories That Bind Us,” the discussion explored research showing that children who know more about their family history are often better equipped to navigate hardship, build resilience, and develop a stronger sense of identity and belonging.

“Children who know more about their family history have a better ability to navigate the ups and downs in their lives.”

Bruce explained that the power of preserving family stories does not come from presenting life as perfect. Instead, stories about setbacks, uncertainty, illness, loss, and recovery help normalize what he described as our “oscillating lives.” When families openly share honest life stories, future generations learn that struggle is not abnormal. Charlie connected this idea to Remento’s mission of helping families preserve authentic memories through guided storytelling, recorded memories, and printed Remento keepsake books that capture not only stories, but also family values, wisdom, and lived experience.

The Family Stories We Hesitate to Tell

As the conversation continued, Bruce reflected on reconnecting with his father later in life through storytelling prompts and weekly emails asking about childhood memories, identity, hardship, and family history. Those conversations eventually became a meaningful source of reflection, healing, and emotional connection for both of them.

“The stories people are most hesitant to tell are often the ones with the greatest emotional value and learning potential.”

Bruce shared that many people avoid telling difficult family stories because they want to protect younger generations from pain or discomfort. But stories about conflict, hardship, discrimination, grief, resilience, and recovery are often the stories families connect with most deeply because they help people feel less alone in their own experiences. Through guided prompts and voice and video-recorded storytelling, Remento helps make preserving family memories feel approachable and personal, giving storytellers space to reflect honestly and preserve life stories without pressure to tell a perfect version of their lives.

Family Rituals, Gatherings, and Connection Across Generations

The conversation also explored themes from Bruce Feiler’s newest book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How It Can Save Us, including the growing importance of family rituals, intentional gatherings, and meaningful connection in modern life. Bruce encouraged attendees to think of themselves as “ritual designers,” creating opportunities for family connection through traditions, dinners, celebrations, storytelling, and shared experiences across generations.

“Just by being alive, you can be a ritual designer.”

Bruce explained that meaningful family rituals do not need to be elaborate or expensive to matter. What matters most is intentionally creating space for connection, reflection, storytelling, and togetherness over time. He described rituals as “values lived out loud,” helping families reconnect in a world increasingly shaped by loneliness, isolation, and digital overwhelm. Charlie connected these ideas back to how many families use Remento, where preserving stories often becomes a meaningful family ritual and lasting gift that helps protect voices, memories, and family history for future generations.

How Remento Helps Families Preserve Stories and Memories

Following the conversation with Bruce Feiler, Charlie Greene shared the personal experiences that inspired Remento’s creation and the realization that family stories can disappear more quickly than people expect. After losing his father at a young age and later facing the possibility of losing his mother, Charlie began recording conversations with her and discovered stories, memories, and perspectives he had never heard before despite a lifetime of conversations together.

“Even though we had talked my whole life, recording her stories revealed parts of my mom’s experiences and perspective I had never truly heard before.”

From that experience, Remento was created to help families preserve stories, family history, and meaningful memories before there is urgency and before it feels too late. Charlie then walked attendees through how Remento works, including guided storytelling prompts, recorded stories, photo prompts, and Remento’s Speech-to-Story Technology™, which transforms spoken memories into beautifully written stories collected in a printed keepsake book families can revisit for generations. The overview reflected many of the themes Bruce discussed throughout the webinar, including the importance of preserving honest family stories, creating connection across generations, and making space for reflection through storytelling.

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How Remento Books Preserve Family Stories Across Generations

Charlie also shared how preserving family stories goes beyond memory keeping. Family stories help people understand where they come from, how loved ones navigated challenges, and what values, traditions, and experiences shape a family across generations. Many families discover that recording stories changes how they relate to one another in the present, creating deeper understanding, emotional connection, and appreciation for their shared family history.

Each Remento book is designed to preserve not only stories, but also the voices, expressions, and emotions behind them. Stories are printed in a color hardcover keepsake book with double-thick pages, while QR codes throughout the book link directly to the original audio and video recordings when scanned. The result is a meaningful family keepsake that allows future generations to hear laughter, see emotion, and experience the personality and presence behind each memory alongside the written stories themselves. In many ways, the experience reflects Bruce Feiler’s belief that storytelling helps families stay connected through both shared memories and shared meaning.

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A Meaningful Gift for Preserving Family Stories and Memories

The webinar concluded with a live Q&A following Charlie Greene’s overview of how Remento helps families preserve stories through guided storytelling, recorded memories, and printed keepsake books.

With Father’s Day approaching, Remento offers families a meaningful gift that grows more valuable over time. With more than one million stories preserved, Remento helps families capture the memories, life lessons, and family experiences that might otherwise fade with time. Stories recorded today become a lasting source of connection for children, grandchildren, and future generations who will one day return to the voices, memories, wisdom, and experiences that shaped their family history. 

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Bruce Feiler’s newest book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How It Can Save Us, explores how rituals, storytelling, and meaningful gatherings help families create deeper connection across generations. Explore the book and discover how intentional moments together can strengthen the stories that bind us.