Dear Readers: A recent letter in this column from a diarist calling herself “Not Anne Frank” raised the question of whether to keep old journals.
The writer was pondering the future of her diaries; she was leaning toward destroying them.
I suggested possibly retyping them, along with relevant dates, to redact anything she didn’t want disclosed.
Scores of readers responded with their views and with stories of diaries lost, found and destroyed. The majority of responses suggested saving these diaries.
From these responses I’ve learned that even the most ordinary life is charmed and fascinating to family members.Dear Amy: My great-grandmother kept a journal covering her life in the mid- to late- 19th century.
I was utterly bowled over to come across a passage that began, “We have just learned that a madman has shot Mr. Lincoln.”
As events back then unfolded over the next few weeks, she recorded them. It was like being transported back in time and quite an emotional experience.
Had she destroyed her journals, I and the rest of her many descendants would never have “come to know her” so well. Now, when I look at her portrait hanging prominently on the living room wall next to that of her husband, I feel as if she is a good deal more than a nice old painting.
Thanks to her, I’ve been keeping a journal for 40 years. — Diarist
Dear Amy: I kept diaries from eighth grade until I got married. They’re so funny to read now. I marvel that I did so well in high school and college, because reading the diaries gives a picture of someone who thought about boys all the time while not actually having many dates.
When I was asked to give a little talk at my 50th high school reunion about memories of our class, luckily I had those diaries to refer to.
I figure if my sons read these diaries after I’m dead, what the heck! All they’ll learn is that I was human. — Ann
Dear Amy: I recently ran across some journaling I had done years ago for therapy. I had been advised that it would be a safe way to express my negative feelings.
When I saw my journals, my first thought was this: “I could leave this life any day. I could be in a terrible car accident tonight, or I could be diagnosed with a terminal illness tomorrow.”
I would not want my family to read these journals that are so full of blame, guilt, anger, fears, etc.
My advice would be to destroy any part of one’s journals or diaries that contain these negative thoughts and feelings. — No Regrets
Dear Amy: I’m leaning toward burning diaries. I came across this quote from William Soutar: “A diary is an assassin’s cloak which we wear when we stab a comrade in the back with a pen.”
Not a bad criterion when deciding whether posterity needs documentation of your every passing thought! — Janet
Send questions via e-mail to askamy@tribune.com or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
