A 35-year-old mother of two, who was forced to leave her job due to the pandemic, has now become an inventor and come up with a novel way for preserving the voices of older adults. Jessie Heitman from Jacksonville, Florida has invented what she calls LOVE AND LISTEN. A project of passion and dedication, the COVID-19 pandemic led to its development. “When the pandemic hit, my children were two and five, and after Spring Break of 2020, their daycare and school shutdown indefinitely,” Heitman said. “I had to walk away from a great job to care for them, as so many parents did.”
After weighing all of her limited options, she became a Prime Amazon seller. She immediately noticed that this never-ending marketplace was filled with great products distributed by successful companies. So, it was clear she would have to find a niche, something that was in steady demand yet had little competition. “It seemed more likely to find a needle in a haystack,” said Heitman.
But she was not giving up. Heitman started searching for the thing that when her grandmother was sick. “I knew we didn’t have her for much longer, but I wanted my babies to remember her like I did. Her sweet, distinct, Irish voice still plays on repeat in my mind,” said Heitman.
EUREKA MOMENT
At that time, she wanted to find a recordable storybook of “Love You Forever” (Heitman’s favorite book as a child) to record her grandmother reading it. Interestingly, the search turned up very disappointing results. Heitman discovered that most recordable storybooks were expensive, far from user-friendly, and certainly not what most people would intentionally choose.
Love and Listen is light (only 4 ounces) and has a battery life of seven hours. The rechargeable USB battery is built into the recorder. There is no need to buy or replace old batteries. Transforming ordinary books into keepsake recordable storybooks for children, friends, and relatives and recording personalized voice messages is now easier than ever, according to Heitman.
The device has 15 minutes of recording time, a clip to attach to book covers, and a USB rechargeable battery. The sleek teal heart shaped device fits right on the bookshelf so it doesn’t get separated from its intended book. It also has fast forward and rewind functions so if you record multiple books, songs, or memories, you can easily find your favorite part.
Jessie Heitman’s inspiration for LOVE AND LISTEN was her immense love and closeness with her Aunt Chris, who died just two months before Heitman’s grandmother died. “Aunt Chris knew her time was running out as her cancer worsened, and she bought stuffed bears with 30-second voice recorder inserts for all of us. She waited too long and didn’t get to make most of them, but I got mine,” said Heitman.
Heitman made a stunning discovery with the loss of her grandmother and Aunt Chris in just an eight-week period. The loss of hearing their voices ever again was simply soul crushing. That pain was something Heitman thought should not be endured by others. She felt like it was a major disservice to the children who wanted to preserve the voice of their loved ones. Developing LOVE AND LISTEN was due in part to Heitman not wanting others to experience that immense feeling of loss that she experienced.
The wonderful blessing for Heitman was that before Aunt Chris died, she asked her if she could be her guardian angel. “I asked her in our last phone conversation. My cousin recorded with her on the speakerphone. “Yes, honey I said with tears,” Heitman said. Today, she listens to that recording often and it means more to her than any other keepsake she has.
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