In our closing episode of Season Two, we’re joined by Annette Gendler, writer, teacher, and author of How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History. Annette shares the story of her father’s Latin-German dictionary, a well-worn heirloom that has outlived generations and continues to carry meaning far beyond the words on its pages.

This conversation invites us to think about the role of language in family memory, how everyday objects become vessels of history, and why writing about heirlooms can open doors into stories we didn’t know how to tell. Annette also speaks about her workshops, where she guides others in finding and shaping their own family narratives, often beginning with a single cherished object.

As we close out this season of Keepsake Chronicles, Annette’s story reminds us that keepsakes are more than artifacts. They are starting points, invitations to write, to remember, and to connect the threads of the past with the lives we’re living now.

Resources & Links

• Connect with Annette: annettegendler.com
• Learn more about our community: fragilemoments.org/community
• Submit your own keepsake story: nottodaymedia.com/keepsake
• Say hello on ⁠Instagram.⁠

In this episode of Keepsake Chronicles, we sit quietly with Pat Richley-Erickson, genealogist, storyteller, and the gentle voice behind Dear Myrtle. Pat has spent years transforming family heirlooms from mere objects into doorways — creating custom mini-journals that carry the handwritten stories of the ancestors who once treasured each piece.

Her steamer trunk isn't just storage; it's a love letter to the future. Each drawer holds carefully preserved family history, and each object rests beside Pat's own words, ensuring that when her descendants one day choose their heirlooms, they'll also inherit the stories that make those objects sacred.

We talk about the quiet art of pairing memory with matter, why some stories refuse to be forgotten, and how heirlooms can become bridges between the hearts of the living and the love of the gone.

This is a conversation about the weight of memory, the lightness of love, and the profound responsibility we carry when we become the keepers of other people's treasures.

Links & Mentions

* Pat’s work: Dear Myrtle on Substack

* Learn more about our community: fragilemoments.org/community

* Submit your own keepsake story: nottodaymedia.com/keepsake

* Leave a comment about the episode HERE

* Say hello on ⁠Instagram.⁠

* We also make ⁠What's Your Story?⁠ and ⁠Come Back To Earth.⁠

Tracing legacy through the quiet weight of presence

What does a desk remember?

In this deeply reflective episode of Keepsake Chronicles, genealogist and researcher Emma Cox shares a personal story — not found in the pages of history books, but in the wood grain of her grandfather’s desk.

It’s a keepsake that holds his everyday life: letters, ledgers, memories, moments. And in rediscovering it, Emma found a way to sit closer to him, to listen for the quiet details that shaped his story — and her own.

Together, we explore:

* The emotional texture of ordinary objects

* How family heirlooms shape our identity across generations

* What it means to inherit a space, not just a thing

* How genealogy work is, in many ways, a form of listening

This is an episode about presence, patience, and the sacredness of still spaces.

Links & Mentions

* Emma Cox’s work: emmacox.co.uk

* Learn more about our community: fragilemoments.org/community

* Submit your own keepsake story: nottodaymedia.com/keepsake

Listener Reflection Prompt

Is there a space in your life — a desk, a chair, a quiet corner — that once belonged to someone else?

What traces did they leave behind? What stories still live in the silence?

Leave a comment about the episode HERE

Say hello on ⁠Instagram.⁠

We also make ⁠What's Your Story?⁠ and ⁠Come Back To Earth.⁠