Life Recorded Session

Life Recorded - A Project Inspired by StoryCorps

Share, record and treasure your stories

What is Life Recorded? Life Recorded Program Coordinator Paul Spitale explains.

Each one of us has a uniquely inspiring path in life that has brought us to where we are today. Every life is remarkable. It’s easy to say this about others, but how often do we stop to recognize this about our own lives? Allow yourself to be heard and speak your truth! Your recording can be just for you and to share as you wish, or you may choose to share pieces of your story with the broader Roswell Park community to inspire others with your strength and resolve. This experience can be for healing yourself or for helping others, or both, and no matter what, we respect your ownership of your personal narrative.

Everyone has a story

A cancer diagnosis – your own or a loved one’s – can really make you stop and think about your life, it’s meaning, it’s value and its purpose. Capture this moment, as well as memories from yesterday, or long ago. Give yourself the gift of insight, healing and hope – with a side of love and laughter! Read what one cancer survivor, Louise Muscato, shared about her Life Recorded experience.

No two recordings are the same. Your story can tell others where you’ve come from, who you are and what your hopes and dreams are. You can express how you feel at this time in your life or you can focus on another time. It’s up to you! After all it is your story.

“The mission of Life Recorded at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to provide our patients, family members, volunteers and staff the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives. We do this to remind one another of our humanity, our sacredness, and to teach the value of listening, with the understanding that everyone’s story is unique, important, and adds value to the lives of others.”

What does a life recorded session look like?

Each 40-minute audio or video recording features a “cast” of three characters:

The Storyteller
This is all about you. What do you want to share with others who may be traveling a similar path in life? What do you definitely know for sure and what are you still working out? How do you see the world and how have your family members and friends helped shape you into who you are? Who do you love? Who is your best friend? What makes you hopeful? Express yourself freely and perhaps discover something new about yourself.

The Interviewer(s) (Optional)
This role is for family members, caregivers, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or any other special people in the lives of the storyteller. With one or two interviewers, the session is an intimate conversation. Add a few more people, and it can become a family bonding activity or a way to mark a milestone celebrated by friends.

The Facilitator
It can be difficult to know what questions to ask or where to go next with your recorded conversation. Thanks to our friendly and professionally trained facilitators, you will have an expert and compassionate guide as you experience the positive benefits of storytelling and listening. Your facilitator will also help you get ready for your recording and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have along the way.

Choose your recording “studio”

Life Recorded video session

Opt to record in the space that is most comfortable and convenient for you: 

  • Roswell Park’s Spiritual Care Center & Meditation and Prayer Room
  • Your in-patient room
  • At home (pending COVID safety guidelines)
  • Community setting (your church or gathering space)
  • Over the phone
  • Over video conference

Copies of your recording

This is our gift to you. Request any of the following formats:

  • CDs of your audio recording
  • DVDs of your video recording
  • USB drives with your audio or video recording
  • Digital file of your audio or video recording sent to you through the MyRoswell Patient Portal 

Listen to a recording

Life Recorded Share Your Story information packet image
Learn More about Life Recorded

Leslie's daughter Leah explains how it seemed nearly impossible that her mother, an avid biker and long-time Ride For Roswell participant, rode nearly 70 miles the week before her diagnosis. Mother Leslie talks about how a Facebook posting “mistake” turned her into one of the highest fundraisers that year.

Listen to Leslie's story

To learn how you can tell your own story through Life Recorded, call Roswell Park’s Spiritual Care Department at 716-845-8051 or download the brochure.

*This project is made possible by generous donations from: The Jayne and Phil Hubbell Family