Bringing Out the Gold in People’s Lives

Trained nurse Lisa Rose, who has spent decades hearing people’s stories, felt a calling to turn her listening skills into a fresh career. Her new business, Voices Forever, has the catchline: “Capturing the heart of your stories.”

The brief is that Lisa interviews a person about their life, records it via video and audio, and provides a digital version of the session or sessions on USB. She also uses the written transcript to create a book, including many photos provided by the person and/or their family.

“I think that there’ll definitely be a lot of people in the later years who want to record their life story, but also there might be people in our community who want to record their immigration story or their business story,” says Lisa, who lives in New Plymouth, but was born and bred in Ireland.

She’s always been curious about people and their stories.

“When I was a little kid, I was visiting my brother in the hospital, and I went missing because I was sitting with the other children and asking them what happened and how they were,” she says.

From hospital to hospital, she has continued to listen and listen.

“I’ve been a nurse since I was 19 years of age. And that’s always been my favourite part of nursing – getting to the heart of people’s stories. I’m privileged to be a witness to them as well.”

The mother of two says that in the past couple of years she started doing some radio work voicing ads, undertook some voice training and wanted to get into the audio world.

Then came an enlightening moment when her own family history came alive, thanks to a recording of a radio interview with her great-grandfather, Thomas McDonald.

“It was phenomenal. We didn’t realise half the stuff historically that he was connected to. And I knew him really well. I was 12 when he passed, so I had lots of time with him . . . and he comes alive again when I hear his voice. It just really brings me back to sitting with him and listening to his stories.”

Her beloved relative was a despatch rider in the War of Independence and risked his life carrying messages for influential Irish leaders like Robert Barton and Erskine Childers.

“The interviewer said that Thomas McDonald was a man who contributed to Ireland’s freedom,” says Lisa.

For his commitment to the movement for a free Ireland, Thomas was awarded a War of Independence medal.

Hearing his gentle voice, and how it touched her, helped cement the idea for Voices Forever.

Lisa says her new venture is about sharing that gift by enabling people to hear their loved ones’ stories, long after they’re gone, and preserving the past for future generations keen to learn where and who they come from.

Her own family roots run deep – Lisa’s uncle, Dennis O’Sullivan, has traced their ancestry back to the 1700s.

“He showed me the value of stories,” says Lisa.

While Voices Forever is about capturing individual memories, it’s also a valuable resource for preserving community histories.

Earlier this year, she interviewed a 90-yearold woman, who, with her husband, helped expand the Coastal Rugby Club.

“She said at the end of the interview that she felt really valued by the process,” says Lisa.

Before each interview, she meets with a client for an hour, to get to know them and help them feel relaxed.

“I want the process to be as stress-free as possible,” she says. “I get to know them as a person and draw their story out in the kindest possible way. And with the respect they deserve, as well.”

Interview sessions may last about two hours, depending on the health of the person.

“And as a nurse, I’ll recognise the signs of them getting tired and we can stop, and we can always come back to it if needed. So, I’m very flexible in that way.”

Lisa also wants to partner with Hospice Taranaki, giving families a way to capture their loved ones’ voices during vulnerable times.

“I would like to be a business for good and give a percentage of my profits to the hospice,” she says.

As she looks and listens, Lisa can see a treasure trove of people’s stories needing to be secured for all time.

She says support for her new venture has been overwhelming, including from her business mentor Joe Goodin at Vortex Solutions and Richard Allen at The Hits.

In November, she ran a series of soft launches to introduce Voices Forever to the world so people could learn about her business and, in turn, she learned more about people’s needs.

“I think that’s what makes me tick – the connections I make with people and the stories I hear.”

Her children, Ciara (18) and Dylan (20), also remind her about the importance of capturing family history.

Looking at her own life journey, Lisa says: “Who knew at 48 you could reinvent yourself?”

Voices Forever has given her a fresh purpose to make connections, capture the past, and honour people’s stories, all with the aim of “bringing out the gold”.

Contact Lisa at: lisarose23@hotmail.com021 025 72019 www.voicesforever.co.nz