Every family has a story.
But most of it disappears because there aren't any photos of the small everyday moments that really make up a family culture.
The Inspiration
My mother started keeping a book like this in college. She has never stopped.
On any given day she calls to tell me what happened on this date in some other year. "On this day in 1987, you lost your first tooth." "This is the day your sister found out she got into college." That book is more than fifty years old now and it is the first thing we would grab in a fire.
It doesn't just hold memories, it tells me what mattered to my mother, in her own handwriting, across fifty years. That map of her heart is the most valuable thing I can imagine inheriting.
In our family we have a name for the days when something happens that needs to go in the book. We call them "keeping book days." A school play, an acceptance letter, the day you dug out a new garden or painted the kitchen a new color. Any of these count as keeping book days.
I have my own book, but I sometimes go months without an entry, then spending an afternoon with my photos and my calendar filling in what I almost let disappear. It is already one of my most treasured possessions, and it is nowhere near finished.
I created The Keeping Book so that your family can have this same relationship with their memories. I believe that the life you are living right now is worth keeping. Over time, this book becomes an archive of the things that make your days feel like they are yours - the specific and irreplaceable details that belong entirely to you and no one else. We live in a world that moves quickly. Writing one meaningful thing down is a beautiful way to resist that.
I can tell you the exact date in 2007 that my mom and I shut ourselves in a room for more than 8 hours while we read the final Harry Potter book straight through before anyone could spoil the ending for us.
Meet the Founder
I grew up in a house where there was always music playing and memories being made. The concept of a Keeping Book Day is part of my DNA, so when I was thinking about what creative project I could do next, this was an easy choice. But then I started looking into the data on the impact that algorithmic living is having on families, combined with the impossible pace of life today, and I felt compelled to create something that would help.
It is such a simple concept, but the impact is substantial. This book creates a ritual that asks you to notice the things in your life that you want to hold on to. It invites you to be more present. And the fact that whatever you decide to put in your book is completely yours means that you don't have to think about security or whether or not something is appropriate to share online, or even what anyone else will think about it. That little bit of freedom is a pretty significant step toward resisting the algorithm.
I created Garden Archive Press because I know firsthand the value of preserving memories. Because of my mother's book, I have a special appreciation for ordinary days and I know that the small moments we take for granted become incredibly valuable in the future.
I cherish looking through that book and seeing that the day I started Kindergarten was also the day, 13 years later, that I started college, and also the day I first told my parents about the man who would eventually become my husband. That’s a big day!
Our whole lives are captured safely in that book and it is a treasure of immeasurable value.
I have a vision of a beautiful set of hardcover books, maybe on a mantle or bookshelf, each slightly different, but equally valuable, that contain an archive of that family's life together. I can't wait to help you build yours.
-Laura
Founder, Garden Archive Press
Multicolumn with media
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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.
