Legacy Services
The Proposition
Lives become works of record,
not collections of memory.
Every consequential life carries more than personal achievement. It carries family formation, institutional memory, business judgement, public service, crisis, faith, migration, friendship, sacrifice, and a record of decisions made under pressure. May Biographies turns such lives into disciplined works of record.
Our books are not tribute compilations, vanity projects or episodic memoirs. They are researched, interviewed, structured, written and produced to preserve a life within the institutions, communities and historical forces that gave it meaning. May Biographies offers a distinctive proposition: global-quality biographies and autobiographies with deep sensitivity to origin, family, institutional and public-service experience.
For Families
A private or public record that children and grandchildren can inherit with clarity, not guesswork.
For Founders
A structured account of origins, risk, enterprise, culture, succession and institutional achievement.
For Public Lives
A fuller record beyond headlines, speeches, campaigns, official files or controversy.
For Institutions
An anniversary or legacy history that outlives the event and becomes a reference work.
The May Biographies Difference
We combine oral history, documentary evidence, archival inquiry, narrative authorship, scholarly discipline and book-production management. The result is a life story that reads with power and stands as evidence.
Why This Work Matters
Lives well-lived,
still undocumented
Nation are filled with lives that have crossed continents, professions, social barriers and generations. Many of those lives are materially successful and publicly visible, yet still undocumented in any serious form. Their memory survives in ceremonies, LinkedIn profiles, newspaper mentions, church programmes, annual reports, public awards, family WhatsApp groups and obituary notes. May Biographies speaks to serious and accomplished people from all backgrounds. We reconstruct:
- A family inheritance of memory, values and identity
- A founder record for succession and continuity
- A private archive of documents, photographs, interviews and testimony
- A disciplined public account for leaders whose records have been simplified
- A philanthropic record for families, foundations and communities
- An anniversary publication with lasting reference value
The Central Question
What should future generations know about the life, family, institution or enterprise that cannot be left to scattered memory?
Who We Serve
A practice built for
serious lives
Founders and Entrepreneurs
Business owners, professionals, real-estate developers, healthcare founders, technology builders, manufacturers, logistics operators and family-business heads.
Families and Family Offices
Children, spouses, heirs and advisers seeking to preserve the life of a parent, founder, matriarch, patriarch or family line.
Diaspora and Immigrant Leaders
First-generation professionals, academics, pastors, physicians, engineers, lawyers, civic leaders and community patrons whose lives connect nations and generations.
Public Servants and Institutional Figures
Diplomats, judges, military officers, university leaders, public administrators, policy figures and retired office-holders.
Boards, Foundations and Institutions
Companies, churches, schools, alumni groups, cultural associations, charities and foundations approaching major anniversaries or leadership transitions.
Philanthropists and Community Builders
Donors and families whose giving has shaped education, health, religion, culture, community development or public welfare.
Typical Triggers for Engagement
What We Create
Six forms.
One editorial standard.
Private Autobiography or Memoir
A first-person or assisted life narrative, written with discretion, voice sensitivity and editorial discipline.
Authorised Biography
A researched life written with access to the subject, family, documents, associates and institutional witnesses.
Founder and Enterprise Biography
A life-and-institution account tracing origins, risk, formation, growth, crisis, culture, philanthropy and succession.
Family Legacy Book
A private or public family record integrating genealogy, migration, enterprise, values, photographs and oral history.
Institutional or Corporate History
A serious history of a company, foundation, school, church, association or public institution.
Anniversary and Philanthropy Record
A high-quality publication built around a major anniversary, gift, endowment, foundation milestone or memorial year.
Our Method
From memory
to manuscript
Confidential Consultation
We clarify the subject, purpose, audience, sensitivities, possible form and decision-making structure.
Project Architecture Brief
We prepare a structured map: premise, chapters, interview list, archive needs, timeline, risks and full fee proposal.
Interviews and Oral History
We conduct structured conversations with the subject, family, associates, colleagues, institutional witnesses and beneficiaries.
Documents and Archive Review
We review photographs, speeches, certificates, press materials, correspondence, annual reports, minutes and selected private records.
Narrative Composition
We write the life as an integrated account, not a sequence of disconnected recollections.
Editorial and Factual Review
We manage internal review, client review, correction cycles, sensitive passages and final approval.
Production and Publication
We design and prepare the book for print, private distribution, public presentation or digital circulation.
Project Categories and Indicative Investment
Every engagement is shaped
by the life behind it
Every May Biographies engagement is shaped by the life, family, institution, archive and ambition behind the work. The ranges below are intended to help prospective clients understand the scale of investment usually required. Final project fees are determined after a Confidential Project Architecture Brief or detailed project review.
Confidential Project Architecture Brief
US$2,500–US$5,000Two to four structured conversations; review of available materials; proposed chapter architecture; preliminary interview list; archive and document needs; timeline; sensitive issues; and indicative full-project budget.
Private Autobiography or Legacy Memoir
US$18,000–US$25,000Approximately 40,000–65,000 words; 8–14 interview hours; family and document review; editorial development; authorial voice development; editorial reviews and production; and print-ready manuscript.
Authorised Life or Founder Biography
US$30,000–US$45,000Approximately 70,000–100,000 words; 15–25 interviews; selected witnesses; document and archival review; narrative reconstruction; contextual research; full editorial process; and design-ready or print-ready manuscript.
Family, Founder or Institutional Legacy Book
US$50,000–US$85,000+Approximately 90,000–140,000 words; multiple witnesses; family, corporate or institutional archives; contextual research; full editorial processes; documentary and editorial reviews; institution-level treatment; print-ready manuscript.
The Udu Yakubu Signature Series
A definitive life-and-institution biography led by Dr Udu Yakubu; designed for major public lives, founders, institutions, family dynasties and multi-generational legacy projects requiring the highest level of authorship, historical interpretation and editorial control.
Fees vary according to research depth, interview range, archival complexity, authorship level, manuscript length, production expectations and timeline. Travel, printing, photography, image licensing, legal review, special design, shipping and launch-related services are quoted separately unless expressly included in the engagement letter.
"What should future generations know about the life, family, institution or enterprise that cannot be left to scattered memory?"
Begin a Confidential Consultation
May Biographies
May Biographies
Ready to document
your life and legacy?
Tell us about the life, family, institution or legacy you would like to preserve. A May Biographies project adviser will contact you within one business day to discuss the appropriate next step.
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