The Keeping Book
The Keeping Book is an undated, multi-year memory journal for the moments you want to remember. It is organized by calendar date, so every September 25 can hold memories from every September 25 of your life.
One full page for every day of the year, but no year printed anywhere. You write the year yourself and return to the same page across decades, layering whatever you want to remember. Just add the year, a sentence, and you have preserved a memory.
Over time it becomes an archive of a life, written in your own hand, for the people who come after you.
Cloth hardcover | Gold Foil | Hand-drawn botanicals | 372 pages | $64
How It Works
Most journals are organized by when you wrote them, but the Keeping Book is organized by when things happen. January 1 or June 12 or September 27 each hold everything you have kept for that day over however many years you have been using the book.
Not every day will involve a meaningful memory, but the ones that do deserve somewhere to live.
Orginal Botanical Artwork
Every Keeping Book is rich with symbolism, including twelve original botanical illustrations - one for each month of the year - created by Garden Archive Press founder Laura Branch.
Snowdrops bring hope for January, sweet peas for pleasure in April, and poppies for imagination in August. Each month has a plant chosen for its meaning and its beauty.
On the cover there is rosemary, which symbolizes remembrance.
A Gift for the Moments That Matter
New Baby
Newlyweds
New Home
The Holidays
The book my mother never stopped writing
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The inspiration
My mother started keeping a book like this more than 50 years ago when she was in college, and she has continued ever since. We called hers "the green book" because... her book was green.
On any given day, she calls to tell me what has happened on this day throughout the last few decades.
Sometimes it is something I don't really remember, like "today is the day you lost your first tooth!"
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Unexpected memories
Other times she will bring up things I VIVIDLY remember, like the time we locked ourselves in a room together so that we could read the final Harry Potter book all the way through before anyone could spoil the ending for us.
My favorite thing is when she is able to see patterns that we didn't even realize were happening, like the fact that the day she and my dad had their first date was the same day that I brought my (future) husband home to meet my parents for the first time... just 35 years later.
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The Keeping Book
I Want This For My FamilyI built The Keeping Book so that your family can have this same relationship with your memories.
The Keeping Book is much bigger and more substantial, with a full page for each day of the year instead of just a few lines. I hand-drew botanical illustrations with symbolic meanings for each month and made sure the dates are on the outside edge of each page to make it easier to find the day you are looking for. I created this to last decades and beyond.
Pre-Order The Keeping Book
Our first production run arrives November 21st. Reserve yours now and be among the first families to receive it.
Cloth hardcover | Gold Foil | Original botanical artwork |
372 pages | $64
THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION
Books for Every Part of a Life Worth Keeping
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The Keeping Book
Pre-Order Now - $64An undated family memory journal with one page for every day of the year. It takes a lifetime to fill it.
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What We Say
A book for the inside language, quotes, and phrases that only make sense if you are a part of this family.
Coming Soon
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More from Garden Archive Press
From Family Recipes to House Treasures to Family Mythology, we are building a full archive for the life your family is making right now.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to start on January 1?
Not at all. You can begin on any day of the year - the day you receive it, a birthday, an anniversary, or whenever feels right. The book has no beginning and no end, only the day you're in.
What if I miss days, weeks, or even years?
That is completely expected and entirely fine. The Keeping Book is not a discipline practice, it is a collection point. Come back whenever something happens that is worth keeping.
Can I use this for a child I'm raising now?
Yes, and this is one of the most beautiful ways to use it. Start recording what happens in their life now, in your handwriting, and pass it down to them someday. That is exactly what the book was made for.
How many entries fit on each page?
Each page has generous lined space for multiple years of entries. Most people find they can fit 15–20 separate yearly entries per page comfortably, which means the book can hold decades of a life without running out of room.
How is this different from a regular journal?
A regular journal is organized by when you wrote it. The Keeping Book is organized by when things happened, which means January 14th holds everything that ever mattered on a January 14th, across however many years you keep it. That layering is what makes it an archive rather than a diary.