THIS is an introduction to what will soon be a series of weekly articles derived from books of memories that were curated for almost 50 years. Why “books” instead of “book”, you may ask? Well, simply because there are several books.
Most people would instantly think of those volumes that neatly fill library shelves at the mention of books. I do have several of those kinds of books, but having served their purposes, I treat most of them much like I treat my old textbooks.
My fondest memories are in scrapbooks, photo albums, sticker books, newspaper clippings, idea notes, postcards, cute posters, and simple carriable collectables such as trinkets, bracelets, necklaces, hats, baseball caps, belts, keychains, t-shirts, etc. Though they are old and faded now, being mostly relics from the pre-Internet days, the memories that they carry still occupy prime spaces in my heart. I still remember several occasions in the past when just the sight of them reassured me that my life, despite the ups and downs up to that point, was not in vain.
Many of the memories are sweet, some are bitter-sweet and the rest should have been dead and gone but for their annoying ability to linger on or come and go as they please. Now that we are super connected by the worldwide web, I preserve most of the memorable written materials and images digitally in my trusty little home server, computer, tablet and smartphone.
For the uninitiated, a memory book combines images and saved items or memorabilia, each one accompanied by a short story. In my case, because I have been a journalist all my life, my keepsakes and collectables have captions that answer the interrogative words: what, where, when, who, why and how. So, for example, for a photo of my daughter on a beach, the scribbled caption reads: Valerie; family outing at Damai Beach, Kuching; late afternoon, May 10, 1983; first-time kids played on beach; drove a borrowed Nissan van. No full sentences; only short broken English and other languages that I understand.
I did the recording of all the stories, occasionally quoting other people such as my family members, relatives and friends, especially when their words and memories of certain events were better than mine.
When I first started my collections, I was not consciously or purposely creating what eventually became books of memories. The keepsakes were primarily for prolonging the pleasant sensations of having found something unique or meaningful, having received something from someone special, or having travelled to exceptional places such as China’s Great Wall or the Forbidden City.
There is no definite rule governing what should or should not be in a memory book; it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Unsentimental people, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind types, and people who prefer to let bygones be bygones won’t bother with such a book. Even so, it helps to be as selective as possible so that you won’t end up becoming a hoarder or forced to discard part of your collections somewhere down the road.
Among the things that you might want to preserve are images of and stories about the important people in your life. A meaningful memory book tells the story of you and the people that matter most to you.
Keep little reminders of what makes you happy. Do you know that some old folk still have one or two of their little childhood toys? If written words mean a lot to you, why not keep books, magazines, etc? Photo albums should be among your must-haves; so are diaries or journals.
Composing a family history is also interesting. The information would greatly help family members who lost their memories. Conversely, you can create a book to help some lose their memories. After all, not all memories are good to keep.
Many people are intimidated by writing, so they avoid recording their memories. This is a pity. You’re not writing for an examination; you’re writing for yourself. It doesn’t matter if your writing is not perfect. To start, just pick a theme to avoid losing focus or direction. For example, if you’re keeping family records, then your book should contain mostly information about memorable events involving the individual members of the family and the family as a unit. Such a book would be appreciated generations after you’re gone.
Write truthfully. If you lie, you lie to yourself. Other people don’t know the lie, but your records won’t be accurate. After you’re gone, your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit the lie.
Show, don’t tell. This means that you should not labour unnecessarily with words when you can just show a photo or video of something. For example, instead of describing how crowded the Kuching Waterfront is during a regatta, why not take a photo of the crowd? Stick the 5W’s and 1H to it and twenty years later it would evoke some good accurate memories.
Books of memories are known by various names — memoirs, memory books, photo books, and yearbooks. There are also keepsake albums, which are similar to scrapbooks or photo albums, although they are not just for pictures. They are for displaying mementoes and memorabilia such as certificates, awards and other items of importance. To the keepers, these books are important, not just for sentimental reasons or for posterity, but because they can even help preserve the memories of a person with dementia and promote communication with loved ones even as the disease progresses.
There is no denying that memory is important in life. It does not only hold important knowledge about our lives, personas, and traits; it can mentally transport us to the past and to the future. Simply put, memory is the process of retaining information over time, thus serving as an integral part of human cognition, recalling and using past happenings to frame their present understanding and behaviour.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.
