Background:    Uptake of advance care planning (ACP) remains low among community-dwelling older adults. Integrating life story work with ACP embeds future care planning with personal history. This qualitative study explored older adults and aged care staff experiences in the Enhanced Advance care planning and life Review Longitudinal Intervention (EARLI), examining how life story work shaped ACP engagement. The EARLI project was a cross-over cluster randomised trial across 12 Australian aged care organisations. Methods:   Informed by a social constructivist paradigm, semi-structured interviews were conducted using purposive sampling of EARLI participants and aged care staff following intervention. Interviews were audio-recorded, and analysed using inductive, reflexive thematic analysis. Results:   Twenty-one interviews were completed (10 participants, 11 staff). Four interrelated themes were identified: (1) family dynamics and protectiveness shaped ACP engagement; (2) life story work evoked self-discovery, identity continuity, and values clarification; (3) participants described emotional challenges recalling significant life experiences, linking narratives to future care preferences; (4) participants reported positive emotional and practical outcomes, including clearer care preferences.    Implications:  Findings affirm the value of narrative, relational approaches to ACP in supporting ageing well, while underscoring the emotional labour and complexity of life story work. Family dynamics are a critical context shaping ACP engagement, revealing tensions between family protectiveness and older adults’ autonomy, highlighting the need for facilitated conversations that acknowledge relationships and power dynamics. Life story work holds responsibility and possibility; memories can be burdensome yet offer a profound gift enabling older adults to place future care within a coherent sense of self.