Project Keepsake

Book excerpt: Fascinating personal histories are revealed through the stories of cherished objects, in this anthology celebrating the meaningful mementos of our lives. Amber Lanier Nagle has always been interested in keepsakes, whether her own or those she encounters in her friends’ homes. Seemingly ordinary items—a glass bluebird, a pocketknife, a dime-store locket, a faded fishing lure, a dented cake pan, a model train car—become priceless treasures when their stories are uncovered. In Project Keepsake, Nagle collects the tales of these objects and their beloved memories from contributors near and far. “Why do you keep this?” Nagle asks. “Where did it come from?” And then she listens as the stories pour out. Told in first-person by both seasoned and aspiring writers, every essay in the anthology is unique—yet each reveals common threads that connect us all and celebrate the glorious human experience.