Turning Memories into Keepsakes: Letters to Remember Project by Laura Clift
Close your eyes for a moment and think of something that fills your heart. Maybe it’s a memory of your grandmother or a place you visited for the first time. What makes you feel warm with nostalgia?
What if you could write down your memory, send it to someone, and receive a treasure back in the mail?
I’ve previously shared about my friend and poet R. Clift, and our collaboration on poetry prints and cards. Her twin sister, Laura Clift, is an equally gifted writer and artist. She started a beautiful project called Letters to Remember.
Laura and I have talked at length about growing tired of text messages, social media, and now AI (ugh, don’t get me started). Everything feels distant or rushed. We yearn for the days of communicating offline, particularly through letters.
This is why Laura started Letters to Remember.
Participating is simple and you can do it from anywhere in the world for just the cost of a stamp.
Write down a memory on paper and mail it to Laura:
Laura Clift
PO Box 9
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871
USA
In return, Laura will write a dialogue poem inspired by your memory (and maybe a painting!) and send it back to you.
Laura says, “I have always found inspiration for writing in my own memories. I want to give you a place to slow down and share a piece of your heart with me. I’ll answer your letter in poetry because I believe art is a conversation.”
There’s something really special about slowing down and choosing a memory that warmed your heart or taught you something about life. This project is an invitation to remember, reflect, and share something meaningful without any screens involved.
Below is a memory from Sarah, the very first letter that Laura received after starting this project.
Letter Transcript:
A memory that I hold close to my heart takes place in Barron, Wisconsin. I was a child, maybe 7-8 years old and the year was in the early 2000’s. It was the end of summer, the air hot and humid, and my grandmother and I would make home-made raspberry jam together. We would go to a nearby farm that grew raspberries, red and juicy and sweet. We filled tubs of them, picing them one by one with our hands. Afterwards, we went back to my grandmother’s house and I would sit and watch her do her thing. The smell of sweet, warm fruit would carry through her house, making one’s mouth water from the first sniff. Sugar, raspberries, lemon juice— poured into glass jars— made with love.
Raspberries are the fruit of memory for me— the memory of my grandma. ♡
Sincerely,
Sarah
And here is the poem and a piece of art that Laura mailed back to Sarah.
Poem Transcript:
“As we grow older, and the past feels so far away— I think our childhood memories find homes in the world, not just within out own hearts,” she said.
Her friend glanced over. “What do you mean?”
“Well… it’s like hearing a song you used to love or passing by an old haunt, and everything comes rushing back— for me, it’s the taste of homemade raspberry jam in summer.
So many of our memories are out there, waiting for us to find them again. Isn’t that beautiful?”
Laura Clift
Laura has long been inspired by letter writing and tangible keepsakes. Years ago she was a ‘Juliet’ at the Club di Giulietta in Verona, Italy where people mail in letters filled with love and heartbreak and she would write back with words of comfort and understanding.
More recently she visited the special collections at the New York Public Library to view documents left behind by a distant relative, Montgomery Clift, who was an actor during the gold age of Hollywood. His letters, scripts, and notebooks filled with writing were all evidence of a life fully lived. Memories in ink.
I was so moved by this project that I had to write down my own memory to share with Laura. There are countless memories I could’ve shared, but I decided to share about a trip I took to Seattle a few years ago with my nephew Jalen. We sat in a coffee shop on a rainy day and played {THE AND} game where you ask each other questions.
During one of his answers (I think to the question ‘What are 5 things you love about me?’), he said that he’s always felt my presence. This really hit me because we've lived in different states our entire lives.
It made me flashback to all the ways I’ve shown up for him—at his kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade graduations in New York, his high school and college graduations in Florida, as many birthday parties as I could attend, every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and every Spring Break we could spend together. But he wasn’t just talking about physical presence. He was talking about something deeper… feeling like we have a sibling/BFF relationship and how special and rare that is.
In response to my letter, Laura mailed me this poem and a painting with the Seattle skyline in the rain.
Poem transcript:
“That’s just it,” she said. “We were never meant to be alone. Nobody is an island… I am only part of myself.”
“Don’t you feel like a whole person?” he asked.
“Sure— but I couldn’t have made it here on my own. I carry so much of those I love.
My heart, my humor, my memories— don’t you see? We are truly ourselves, our full selves, when we’re with those we love.
No matter how far away you may be, the love that remains— that is who I am.”
Laura Clift
So beautiful, right? Consider turning your own memory into a keepsake by writing to Laura. Mail your letter to:
Laura Clift
PO Box 9
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871
USA
I also hope this inspires you to write more memories to your friends and family! Share your heart this year without any screens involved.
Feel free to share your memory below in the comments too or let me know that you’re planning to participate in Letters to Remember.
Laura Clift is an author, artist, and world traveler living in East Tennessee. You can learn more about her on her website at lauraclift.com, follow her on social media at @l.a.clift or join her new Teacup Story Club on Patreon.
With love,
Alison Rose
Shop: alisonrosevintage.com
Social media: @alisonrosevintage
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