Strengthening legacy through story and intergenerational stewardship.
We help significant families, individuals and family businesses capture their stories — and turn them into Narrative Capital™ that strengthens identity, learning, and continuity across generations.
THE MEANING TRANSFER GAPAssets can be transferred efficiently. Meaning cannot.
Narrative is a powerful tool for strengthening identity, belonging and intergenerational connection.
That is why we have spent 17 years re-connecting generations.
Services
Narrative Capital™ - Our private narrative and legacy services for significant families.
LIFE STORY IN A DAY
One day to preserve a lifetime of stories
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One day to preserve a lifetime of stories.
A private, guided storytelling day for a founder, elder, matriarch, patriarch or significant family member whose voice, memories and lived experience deserve to be preserved.
For families who want to capture:
life stories, formative memories, values, lessons, family history and the voice of someone they love.How it works:
A preparation conversation, one day on site, professional audio or film capture, and an edited keepsake delivered to the family.You receive:
A private audio or film legacy piece that can be shared and revisited across generations
INTERGENERATIONAL STORYTELLING EXPERIENCE Meaningful facilitation at family retreats and off-sites
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A private storytelling experience for families ready to share what matters.
A facilitated live experience for family retreats, milestone gatherings and moments of transition. Multiple generations come together to hear, witness and carry forward important stories.
For families who want to create:
deeper connection, shared understanding, intergenerational dialogue and a meaningful family moment.How it works:
We scope the experience with you, facilitate the live storytelling conversation, and capture an edited keepsake for the family.You receive:
A professionally held family storytelling experience and a private record of the conversation.
BOOK OF LIFE
A legacy asset of a life, leadership and business story
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A private legacy book shaped from a year of deep storytelling.
A twelve-month narrative legacy engagement for founders, elders and family leaders who want to preserve their life story, family story or business story in written form.
For families who want to create:
a substantial private book that captures life experience, values, turning points, lessons and legacy.How it works:
Two private interviews each month, ongoing creative direction, editorial development and final book production.You receive:
A beautifully shaped private book for the family, created through a structured year-long storytelling process.
Meet the Founder
Nim de Swardt
I founded RE-CONNECT to help significant families preserve more than stories.
For the past 17 years, I have worked on more than 140 bespoke narrative projects with families, helping them capture the lived experience, values, and defining stories that shape identity, belonging, and continuity across generations.
My work is grounded in a simple belief: wealth does not transfer meaning on its own.
Through RE-CONNECT, I bring together a trusted circle of narrative practitioners, strategists, psychologists, researchers, social scientists, advisers, human-centred designers, writers, editors, designers and storytellers.
Together, we bring rigour and care to the work of narrative stewardship, shaping lived experience into Narrative Capital™ that families can return to, learn from and carry forward over time.
Reach out to me, I’d love to hear from you
“In my work with significant families, the deeper work is relational: learning how to stay connected, how to repair, how to include, how to pass on wisdom, and how to create meaning.
Stories help a family understand who they are, where they have come from, and what they are here to steward.
Through RE-CONNECT and the development of Narrative Capital™, Nim is giving families structure and language for something many intuitively know but often struggle to cultivate: stories, memories, values, lived experiences and shared meaning are also a form of capital.
I first met Nim ten years ago. Since then, I have witnessed her grow into a thoughtful and pioneering practitioner at the intersection of storytelling, legacy, and family wealth.
Nim cares deeply. She combines her own lived experiences within the complexity of family systems with deep listening, narrative intelligence, and the social sciences to help families turn stories into stewardship. For families seeking to steward wealth with greater purpose, connection, and humanity, her work is timely and deeply valuable.”
— Peter Evans - Trusted Adviser to Legacy Families and Board of Directors, The James E. Hughes, Jr. Foundation
Narrative Capital™
Inspired by James (Jay) E. Hughes' Five Capitals, Narrative Capital™ is our exclusive offering and output for significant families.
It is the shared narrative infrastructure that helps a family understand who they are, where they have come from, what they value, and what they want to carry forward. It turns lived experience into a practical resource for connection, learning and continuity across generations.
“A family that hopes to preserve its wealth over time must learn to keep its stories alive.”
— James (Jay) E. Hughes
Kind Words From Clients
“Working with Nim gave us a profound gift - our family’s history, beautifully told and thoughtfully preserved. It changed how we connect as a family forever”
“Nim has an extraordinary ability to ask powerful questions that gently guided us into deep reflection. Her creative storytelling transformed our scattered memories of building the family business into a beautifully cohesive story. The experience has profoundly reshaped not only how we see ourselves as a family business but also how we onboard new team members and take others on the journey.”
“Nim captured more than just our family’s story - she bridged generations. Through her narrative expertise, our children and grandchildren now understand where they come from, deepening relationships and nurturing bonds we never imagined possible”
What Guides Us +Our work is guided by a simple yet powerful understanding — Narrative is how meaning, identity, and continuity are carried forward over time.
Our guiding principles: Language creates possibility. Meaning is made in relationship. Listening is an act of leadership. Identity is shaped through lived experience. Legacy is not what we leave behind - but what is captured, shared, and carried forward.
Our practice is evidence-based. It bridges narrative research and ethical practice to the service of Narrative Capital™ — strengthening trust and continuity across generations.
Partner With Us +
Complete the form with a few details, and we'll get back to you within 48 hours.
Capturing values, and shared histories to unite and empower families across generations.
Redefining how your family perceives, protects, and passes forward your values and vision.
Stories Forge Connection.
Connection Sustains Generational Wealth.