Keeping a parent's messages in a book

Save the messages first

Before thinking about a book, make sure the messages are safe. In WhatsApp, open the chat and export it with media (WhatsApp's steps for iPhone and Android). You get a file with every message, and the photos and voice messages the export includes. Keep it in two places. An export is a copy that stays yours even if a phone is lost or WhatsApp is set up again.

What a book of their messages can hold

• Their everyday words: the check-ins, the reminders, the way they signed off.
• Their emoji, in color, as they sent them.
• The photos they sent, where they sent them.
• Your side of the conversation too, so the book reads as the two of you talking.

The book opens with the first message in the chat and a page of numbers: how many messages, how many days you talked. You choose the title, such as their name, “Mom”, or the words they always ended with.

Choosing what goes in

Some families want every message. Others prefer the best moments edition, which keeps the loving, funny and grateful messages, birthdays and photos, with the messages around each one. You can see every page before you decide, and change your mind as often as you like.

Taking your time

There is no rush once the export is saved. The book maker reads the file on your own device; nothing is uploaded while you look through it. If and when you order, the 6 × 9 inch paperback is printed and mailed, with the PDF to keep.