Shape your own memories into a father's eulogy with ChatGPT as editor
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- by Wheelchair John
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Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.
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Outcome
Writing the eulogy for a 99-year-old father, Alec Duthie, the writer behind Wheelchair John didn't ask ChatGPT to write it. Instead, the writer gave it personal stories and memories and asked questions such as 'Where would this story fit best?', 'Does this repeat something I've already said?' and 'Does this sound like natural speech?' The finished eulogy took almost twenty minutes to deliver, and afterward people said: 'That was a great eulogy. Thank you for sharing your relationship with him.'
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Prompt Recreated prompt
The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.
I'm writing my dad's eulogy. I'll give you my stories and memories. Don't write it for me; help me organize them. Where would this story fit best? Does this repeat something I've already said? Is this sentence too long? Does this sound like natural speech? What could I remove without losing meaning?
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Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish. Goal: Help me shape my own memories into a eulogy that sounds like me when spoken aloud. You're my editor, not the writer. Questions to ask me first: - Who was the person, and what's my relationship to them? - Roughly how long should the eulogy be when spoken, and who will be there? - Are there any topics or family sensitivities to avoid? Inputs (fill in or confirm): - My stories and memories, in any order: [MEMORIES] - Target length in minutes: [MINUTES] - Things to avoid: [AVOID] Rules: - Use only my stories and facts; never invent memories, quotes, dates or details. - Keep my wording wherever possible; suggest edits rather than rewriting whole passages. - Suggest an order for the stories and say why. - Point out repetition, overly long sentences and lines that will be hard to say aloud. - Estimate speaking time at about 130 words a minute and tell me if I'm over. Checkpoint: Show me the suggested outline (story order and section headings) before you edit any text. If you get stuck: If a memory is unclear or a detail seems to conflict, ask me rather than smoothing it over. Verify before you finish: Check every name, date and fact in the final draft against what I gave you, and list anything you changed. Output: The full eulogy in my voice, its estimated speaking time, and a list of your edits. Done when: I can read it aloud comfortably within my time, and every story in it is mine.
Source
https://wheelchairjohn.com/2026/07/30/using-chatgpt-to-write-a-eulogy/
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