A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved
Grieving together is good for you. That has not changed for thousands of years. Even in the Bible, it is reported in various places that when someone died, the people of the town came together to mourn. In this country, we speak of condolence visits. Then relatives and friends come together in the house of mourning to express their personal sympathy to the mourners. On such occasions, memories from the time with the deceased are usually also exchanged.
Until a few years ago, this was the usual procedure of the mourning process. Someone died, obituaries were sent out and placed in the newspaper, there were condolence visits, a burial with a funeral service, and then at some point a headstone to perpetuate the memory. The rest were personal memories or mementos that the relatives kept for themselves, and which were only shared with others to a limited extent.
Digital media help to cope with grief
It sounds a bit paradoxical, but since the Internet came into existence, the way of mourning has also changed. Not the sadness itself, which will probably never change when someone dies. But the options for mourning online have become infinitely more diverse. Online obituaries are placed on the websites of daily newspapers, memorial sites offer the opportunity to commemorate the deceased from anywhere in the world where Internet access is available, condolences can be sent by video message and funerals can be followed in a livestream.
In the past, anyone on a long vacation or business trip could at best be informed of a death by telegram or telephone call, as could relatives or friends living at a distance. That was usually it. Condolences were made, if at all, after the return, or by letter or postcard. Thanks to modern media, it is now possible to participate at least virtually in the grief of those affected and to exchange memories with them, even if one cannot be there in person.
Memorial pages - digital condolence books with 24/7 access
In books of condolence that are available at funeral services or in houses of mourning, only those people who are actually present on site can sign in. This greatly diminishes the personal benefit of a book of condolence. In contrast, various online platforms – as well as local funeral homes – offer the option on the Internet of setting up a memorial page for a deceased person that can be accessed around the clock, seven days a week. This is a very nice way to convey a personal and individual condolence to relatives and/or share memories in memory of the deceased, regardless of time and space.
Memorial pages are therefore also a special help when one is far away from the mourners or does not have the opportunity to stand by the grieving relatives due to illness or other reasons. So a memorial page is like a digital condolence book that is virtually created online by different people. It is, if not password protected, publicly viewable by all internet users. But this also means that it loses somewhat the personal, sustainable and long-term character of a medium for coping with grief that is so important for mourners.
Mourn together and keep the memory alive with a memorial book
Meminto Stories memorial book is a symbiosis of memorial page, condolence book and biography. It is created to give one or more mourners the opportunity to write down feelings or sentiments, share memories of the deceased and keep the memory alive.
The difference with a memorial page, which usually contains condolence contributions and less detailed memories of the life of the deceased, and which are then only available online, is that you end up holding a real book in your hands. A book that is created online on the Internet, can be printed in any number, and that one likes to pick up and leaf through again and again. A book that can help grieving relatives to process the pain, with which friends can share personal or common memories and which can be passed on to subsequent generations.
Anything but impious: letting the deceased have their say
Creating a memory book with Meminto Stories is quite simple. The initiator of a memory book gets an access to a personal area on www.meminto.com. After the usual deposit of data and answering a few short questions, the creation of the book can be started. By the way, it does not matter when you start – just like with the memorial page. It can be immediately after the bereavement or later.
At regular intervals – usually weekly – Meminto Stories asks questions about the deceased. These questions can go to individuals or a select group of people. As a rule, these questions are asked over a period of one year, but can be processed more quickly if desired. The questions not only help to cope with grief by keeping memories alive for a long time, but they also help to recall memories that may have been long forgotten.
In addition to texts, matching photos can also be uploaded. After all, some memories are linked to a photo that was taken on the occasion. Such photos are of course a real enrichment of the memory book, because, as the saying goes: A picture is worth a thousand words.
A special highlight of the Meminto Book of Remembrance is the ability to play movies stored in the book using a special smartphone app. For example, if you asked the deceased a question while he or she was alive and filmed him or her answering it, this film can be integrated into the memory book. This is a completely new level of remembrance culture and goes far beyond the possibilities of a memorial page.
From the first question to the finished book - Meminto takes care of everything
Mourners need to worry about almost nothing when creating the memory book. Meminto not only provides help with remembering through the targeted questions, but also ensures that the book is professionally printed and processed after all questions have been answered.
Capture memories now!
Get access to hundreds of questions. We'll structure your answers, make sure you don't forget anything, and take care of printing and mailing. In a few weeks, you'll have your personal memory book in your mailbox as a memorial to your loved one!
Such a book is an honorable memory of loved ones who have left us. It is an expression of appreciation for the deceased and allows the survivors to share vividly in his or her life and the shared memories of all those who contributed to the book. And although it is created online, unlike the memorial page, it does not remain online, but becomes a keepsake that can be picked up at any time.
