You can hold onto family heirlooms and look through old photo albums, but there might be something about hearing a family voice that really makes memories come alive.

Last weekend, my daughter Chappell and I participated in a 40-minute recorded interview hosted by our public radio station. If you’re not familiar with NPR’s Story Corps, the idea is that two people enter a recording booth and have a conversation, asking a few questions prepared in advance, with the intent of preserving family history and stories.

You receive a copy at the end, and it’s also cataloged at the Library of Congress for future generations of your family to listen and learn.

I was a little unsure of how things would go, but it ended up being a casual conversation between the two of us with Chappell asking questions about our family, grandparents and great-grandparents along with other things we’ve experienced in life. We covered everything from the tough times our family experienced during the Depression and WWII, to my father and me building a cabin on Lake Burton, my thoughts for our city and some advice for each of my three children. Our allotted time went by very fast, but I know the experience was worthwhile.

The facilitator told me they are continuing around the country, and if you get the opportunity, you might consider participating.