Frequently Asked Questions
Death raises questions.
So does deciding to write your own eulogy while you are still very much alive.
Here are some of the ones we expect to hear most often.
About Your Eulogy
What is Your Eulogy?
Your Eulogy is a resource for people who would like some input into what gets said about them after they die.
Which, when you think about it, isn’t an entirely unreasonable request.
We’re interested in the person behind the standard facts.
The stories. The relationships. The contradictions. The things you cared about. The peculiar habits. The difficult bits. The things everyone gets wrong. The things you’d really rather nobody described as a “journey”.
Our main resource is My Eulogy File, a guided workbook that helps you collect all of that while you’re still here to contribute.
Why would I want to write my own eulogy?
You might want to write the whole thing yourself.
You might want to leave a draft.
You might want to leave notes for somebody else.
Or you might simply want to record enough of yourself that whoever eventually writes your eulogy isn’t starting with your date of birth, employment history, and a rapidly approaching funeral.
It also gives you the opportunity to record things other people might not know, remember, or think to mention.
And to veto certain phrases while you still have the chance.
Isn’t writing your own eulogy a bit morbid?
It can be.
It can also be funny, interesting, reflective, practical, surprising, moving, and occasionally extremely satisfying.
Talking about death doesn’t cause it.
You’re going to die whether or not you make notes.
We’d rather give you the notes.
Do I have to be ill or elderly to do this?
No.
In fact, we’d rather you weren’t completing it because you suddenly need to.
My Eulogy File is designed to be something you can start while life is simply happening.
You can return to it.
Add stories.
Change your mind.
Update relationships.
Cross out the opinion you were inexplicably passionate about in 2026.
It can grow with you.
Is Your Eulogy a funeral-planning service?
No.
We’re concentrating on one particular part:
the eulogy.
We don’t arrange funerals, sell funeral plans, write wills, provide estate planning, or tell you whether you should be buried underneath an oak tree while Bat Out of Hell plays.
There are other places for the practical arrangements.
This is about what gets said about you.
My Eulogy File
What is My Eulogy File?
My Eulogy File is a downloadable guided workbook designed to help you collect the material for your eventual eulogy.
It takes you through:
- the outline of your life;
- your people;
- what you’re actually like;
- your stories;
- what mattered;
- the bits that don’t fit neatly;
- what you absolutely don’t want said;
- messages you’d like to leave; and
- your eventual eulogy, if you want to write it.
It also includes a When You Need This section for the person who eventually opens your File.
Is it a form I fill in?
No.
Deliberately.
There aren’t tiny boxes expecting you to fit your relationship with your mother into four lines.
My Eulogy File contains the questions, prompts, and guidance.
You keep your answers separately.
You could use:
a notebook;
a ring binder;
a folder;
a digital document;
speech-to-text;
or whatever else works for you.
One question might need two words.
Another might unexpectedly produce six pages.
We don’t want the formatting deciding when you’ve said enough.
Do I have to work through it in order?
Absolutely not.
Start with the chapter that interests you.
Jump around.
Answer one question.
Ignore seventeen.
Remember something at 2am and add it to the wrong section.
It’s your File.
The structure is there to help you, not supervise you.
Do I have to answer every question?
No.
Some questions won’t apply.
Some won’t interest you.
Some may be too personal.
Some you might not be ready to answer.
And some may produce nothing more than:
No idea. Next.
That’s fine.
There is no completion score.
Do I have to write my finished eulogy?
No.
This is important.
Writing your own eulogy is only one possible outcome.
You can use My Eulogy File to leave:
- a finished eulogy;
- a rough draft;
- a suggested structure;
- notes and instructions;
- stories and memories;
- material for somebody else to use; or
- some combination of the above.
You may get to Chapter 10 and decide you’d much rather somebody else write it.
They’ll now have considerably better material.
Job done.
What kinds of things does the File ask about?
Some are straightforward.
Where did you grow up?
Who mattered to you?
What did you do?
Others are more interesting.
What were you hopeless at?
What did people misunderstand about you?
Which completely ordinary things made you happy?
What stories do people always tell about you?
What did you change your mind about?
What shouldn’t somebody turn into an inspirational story after you’re dead?
And, of course:
What would make you come back and haunt the eulogy writer?
We have priorities.
Privacy
Do I complete My Eulogy File on the website?
No.
And we don’t plan to change that.
You download the workbook and keep your answers yourself.
There is no Your Eulogy account containing your life story.
There is no online dashboard.
There is no database of everybody’s regrets.
This is intentional.
Do you store my answers?
No.
We don’t ask you to upload your completed File, and we don’t provide storage for it.
Your answers could contain extraordinarily personal information about you and other people.
We don’t need it.
You keep it.
Can I send you my completed File?
Please don’t.
If you have a question, tell us enough to understand what you’re asking.
We almost certainly don’t need your entire life story as background.
Your completed File belongs with you and the people you choose to trust with it.
Where should I keep my File?
Somewhere reasonably secure and somewhere the right person will eventually be able to find it.
Those two things need to coexist.
A perfectly protected File that nobody knows exists isn’t enormously useful.
My Eulogy File includes an About This File section where you can record practical information such as:
Started:
Last updated:
Status: Finished eulogy / Draft / Material only
Main copy kept:
Other copies:
People who know:
Person I’d like to handle it:
Permission to edit:
Private material:
Review date:
You should also make sure at least one appropriate person knows the File exists and where to find it.
Should I put passwords or financial information in it?
No.
My Eulogy File isn’t designed to be a password manager, financial record, will, or secure document vault.
Don’t use it to store passwords, PINs, full bank details, or other security credentials.
Use appropriate secure systems for those things.
What Happens Later?
Who should I tell about my File?
At least one person you trust.
Ideally, someone who is reasonably likely to still remember where it is when it matters.
You can also identify the person you’d like to handle your File eventually.
That doesn’t guarantee they’ll be able or willing to do it, but it gives people somewhere to start.
Can I choose who writes my eulogy?
You can record who you’d like to write or handle it.
You can also leave instructions about whether they may edit a eulogy you’ve written.
But My Eulogy File doesn’t give you legal control over what happens after your death.
Circumstances change.
People change.
And people remain annoyingly capable of making their own decisions even after you’ve left extremely clear instructions.
Your File gives you a voice.
It isn’t remote control from beyond the grave.
What if nobody uses it?
That’s possible.
We can’t guarantee that somebody will find your File or use what you’ve written.
The best way to improve the odds is to:
keep it somewhere sensible;
tell people it exists;
identify who you’d like to handle it;
and review that arrangement occasionally.
Don’t hide it magnificently.
What if I change my mind about something?
Change it.
Please.
My Eulogy File isn’t carved into stone.
Add something.
Delete something.
Rewrite something.
Change who you’d like to handle it.
Decide that the story you once considered essential is actually painfully boring.
That’s why the File includes space to record when it was last updated.
How often should I update it?
There isn’t a rule.
You might review it once a year.
Every few years.
After a major life change.
When you move house.
When relationships change.
When you’ve accumulated another story worth keeping.
Or whenever you happen to think:
I really need to add that to my eulogy.
The important thing is that something written twenty years ago shouldn’t automatically be treated as your final opinion if you’ve clearly changed your mind since.
What if I don’t finish it?
Then you don’t finish it.
An unfinished File can still be enormously useful.
Three chapters and twelve good stories may tell somebody far more about you than a perfectly completed form ever could.
This isn’t homework.
Nobody is marking it.
Writing About Real Life
What if my life isn’t particularly interesting?
Excellent.
You qualify as human.
A good eulogy doesn’t require international intrigue, groundbreaking achievements, or a dramatic third act.
Ordinary lives contain people, habits, jokes, mistakes, relationships, obsessions, routines, places, stories, and things that mattered.
The fact that you always ate the corner piece of lasagne may eventually make somebody in the room smile more than your professional biography does.
We’re looking for recognition, not impressiveness.
What if parts of my life were difficult?
They can belong in your File if you want them there.
You don’t have to make difficult experiences uplifting.
You don’t have to call yourself brave.
You don’t have to forgive everybody before you’re allowed to die.
You don’t have to turn every mistake into a lesson.
And you don’t have to include any of it.
The File makes room for complicated lives.
It doesn’t demand them.
What if my family relationships are complicated?
Then you have something in common with a significant portion of humanity.
My Eulogy File doesn’t assume that biological family automatically equals closest family.
There is room for:
chosen family;
estrangement;
former partners;
stepfamilies;
friends who became family;
people you loved but found difficult;
people you’ve lost touch with;
and relationships that don’t fit neatly into a box.
Use the language that reflects your life.
Can I write things I don’t want read aloud?
Yes.
In fact, we actively encourage you to distinguish between:
material that may be shared;
background information for the eulogy writer;
information for particular people; and
private material.
Writing something down doesn’t automatically mean you want it announced to a room full of relatives.
Make your intentions as clear as you can.
Can I write about other people?
Of course. It would be difficult to describe a life without doing so.
But use judgement.
Other people have privacy too.
Particularly think before recording or instructing somebody to publicly share sensitive information about another person’s health, identity, relationships, finances, experiences, or private life.
Sometimes the story is yours.
Sometimes it’s partly theirs.
The Product
Is My Eulogy File a physical book?
No.
The current version is a digital download.
You can read it digitally or print it yourself.
If we introduce other formats or physical versions later, we’ll make that clear.
What format does it come in?
Currently, PDF
We’ll list the format on the product page before you buy.
We’re also planning on providing alternative accessible formats where reasonably possible.
Can I print it?
Yes.
Print the whole thing.
Print particular chapters.
Reprint a page you’ve lost.
Keep another copy somewhere sensible.
You have a personal-use licence designed to let you actually use the product rather than guard one sacred PDF for the rest of your life.
Can I make backup copies?
Yes.
Please do.
You may make reasonable copies for your own use and safekeeping.
You might keep the main File at home and another copy somewhere secure, for example.
The licence isn’t intended to stop sensible backup arrangements.
Can somebody help me complete it?
Yes.
You might want help from a partner, friend, family member, carer, support worker, or another person you trust.
They can help you read the prompts, write or type your answers, organise the File, or otherwise help you use your copy.
They don’t need to buy another copy merely to assist you.
Can my family use my copy to make their own Files?
No.
Your purchase is licensed for one person’s life.
Your family can help you with yours.
The people dealing with your eulogy can use your copy when the time comes.
But buying one copy doesn’t give you blank copies for six relatives to create six separate Files.
Each person who wants their own My Eulogy File should purchase their own copy.
Can I use it with clients or in a workshop?
Not under the standard personal licence.
If you’re a celebrant, funeral professional, counsellor, therapist, death doula, educator, community organisation, care provider, workshop facilitator, or someone else interested in using My Eulogy File with multiple people, please contact us:
We may introduce professional, bulk, or organisational options later.
Can I give My Eulogy File as a gift?
Not through the current setup unless the purchase system provides an appropriate gifting option.
We like the idea, though.
There is something magnificently direct about:
Happy birthday. Here’s a workbook about your eventual funeral speech.
If we introduce gifting, we’ll explain how it works on the website.
Will I get future updates?
We may correct errors or improve My Eulogy File over time.
Buying the current version doesn’t automatically give you lifetime access to every future edition or entirely new product unless we specifically say otherwise.
If we provide an updated version to existing customers, lovely.
If we eventually produce My Eulogy File: The Surprisingly Extensive Second Edition, that may be a separate product.
Accessibility
What if I can’t use the standard version?
Please contact us.
We’re open to providing My Eulogy File in alternative formats where we reasonably can.
That might include versions better suited to:
- screen readers;
- larger text;
- reduced visual formatting;
- printing;
- digital reading; or
- editable text.
Tell us what would help.
You don’t need to give us a diagnosis or medical history.
Email: hello@youreulogy.co.uk
Accessibility is a work in progress, and we’d rather know about a barrier than assume we’ve thought of everything.
Can I answer using speech-to-text or audio?
Absolutely.
Your answers don’t have to be handwritten.
You can type them, dictate them, use speech-to-text, ask somebody to record them for you, or use whatever method works.
If you’re leaving audio rather than written answers, make sure the person who will eventually need them knows:
that they exist;
where they are;
and preferably how to access them.
Again: magnificent secrecy is not the objective.
Orders and Problems
How do I buy My Eulogy File?
You’ll be able to purchase it through the Get My Eulogy File buttons on this website (especially on the My Eulogy File page).
Payment and digital delivery are handled through Payhip.
After successful purchase, you’ll be given access to the download.
Do you see my card details?
No.
Payments are processed through the payment providers used by Payhip.
Your Eulogy doesn’t receive or store your full payment card details.
Our Privacy Policy explains more about how purchase information is handled.
Can I get a refund?
Because My Eulogy File is digital content intended for immediate download, different cancellation rules apply once you have expressly requested immediate supply and acknowledged that your 14-day cancellation right will be lost when supply begins.
That doesn’t remove your statutory rights if something is actually wrong with the product.
If your download is corrupted, materially incomplete, not as described, or otherwise doesn’t meet your applicable consumer rights, please contact us.
Our Terms of Sale & Licence explain this properly.
My download isn’t working. What do I do?
First, try the obvious things.
We say that with affection because we too have spent twenty minutes troubleshooting something that wasn’t downloaded yet.
If you’re still having trouble, email:
Tell us:
- the email address you used to purchase;
- approximately when you bought it; and
- what’s going wrong.
Don’t send us your completed File.
We promise the technical problem isn’t hiding somewhere in Chapter 6.
About the Content
Is My Eulogy File legal advice?
No.
Nor is it medical advice, counselling, therapy, bereavement counselling, financial advice, funeral directing, estate planning, or will writing.
It’s a writing and reflection resource.
See our Disclaimer for the full boundaries.
Is My Eulogy File a will?
No.
Don’t use it instead of a legally valid will.
The File may contain wishes, messages, and instructions about your eulogy, but it isn’t designed to distribute your estate or replace proper legal arrangements.
Does completing it make my funeral wishes legally binding?
No.
My Eulogy File isn’t designed to create legally binding funeral instructions.
Its purpose is to help you record your perspective and provide material for your eventual eulogy.
If you need legal advice about arrangements after your death, obtain appropriate professional advice.
Does it tell me how to plan my funeral?
Not really.
We have deliberately resisted that particular expansion.
Your Eulogy is about the eulogy.
There are plenty of other decisions surrounding death, funerals, estates, digital accounts, possessions, music, ceremonies, and everything else.
They matter.
They’re just not this product.
For now.
And Finally…
Isn’t it strange to write something intended to be used after you’re dead?
A little.
But people already write wills.
They make funeral plans.
They label photographs.
They keep family records.
They tell people which song they absolutely do not want played at their funeral.
This is simply another piece of that.
Except this time, instead of only recording what you owned and what you wanted done, you’re also recording:
who you were.
What if I don’t know what I want my eulogy to say?
Good.
That’s why there are ten chapters before we ask you to decide.
You don’t need to know the ending before you collect the pieces.
Start somewhere interesting.
Write something down.
See what turns up.
What if I don’t want a eulogy?
Then don’t have one.
You can still use the File if the process of recording your life appeals to you.
Or decide the entire thing isn’t for you.
We have no intention of becoming the Eulogy Police.
What if I start this and realise I’m enjoying it?
We won’t tell anyone.
Although you may discover that thinking about your eventual death involves rather more thinking about your life than expected.
Which is probably the point.
Still Have a Question?
Have a look through the website first.
If we haven’t answered it, contact:
You don’t need to send us your entire life story with your question.
Save that for the File.
You’ve got considerably more space there.