Every family has a storyteller. One day it’ll be you, so listen closely to the current one.

In most families one person holds the history and tells it, and when they go the stories either transfer or disappear. Nobody appoints a replacement, so the role lands on whoever happened to be paying attention. That makes listening a job rather than a courtesy.

Sit with whoever tells the stories in your family and get one of them properly, with names and dates. Ask who else was there, which is how you find the next story.