Trust
Nothing enters the archive without approval
Approval is a gate, not a courtesy. What that actually means for a family.
A story about a living person is not yours to publish inside the family until they say so. That sounds obvious and is easy to skip once the writing looks finished.
Joan treats approval as a gate. A story that has been written and not yet read by the storyteller is not visible to anyone else, cannot be printed, and cannot be shared. They may correct a detail, keep a passage private, remove it, or refuse the whole thing, and they do not have to give a reason.
Why the gate is not a formality
Speech is looser than writing. People say things on a call they would not want sitting in a folder their children can open. The recording is what keeps the writing honest; the approval is what keeps it kind.
Material that is not approved does not go in “for now.” It stays out. A later change of mind can bring it back. Silence is not permission.
Who decides
The storyteller. Not the member who is paying, not a well-meaning spouse, not Joan. Paying for a membership does not buy the right to overrule a life.
A story can also be kept and still kept closed — sealed until a birthday, or until after they are gone, on terms they set. Keeping something is not the same as sharing it.
The longer version of this, including what Joan will not do, is on our promise.
If you want that gate in place from the first conversation, join Founding Families.