Calm Collective Genuine Leather Legacy Journal | Preserve your Life Story, Celebration of Life, & Memory Keepsake for Grandparents, Mom, Dad

Ever since my daughter was born ~3 years ago I have been trying to find some sort of “life journal” (or even just journaling prompts) to record for her the things that I wish I knew about my parents and grandparents. This book may not be *exactly* what I’m looking for—but it’s a really nice start!The quality is really beautiful. You can tell it’s real leather just from the feel of it. I’ve never seen a “leatherbound” book that is quite like this one—it’s kind of like they just cut a big rectangle of leather and glued a soft cover book inside it. I am kind of concerned at how well the edges will hold up over the years, as my daughter already tried peeling it because she thought it was another page. It’s also very difficult to get it to lay open completely flat, I was afraid I was going to crack the spine when I tried. It may just need to loosen up some though. Otherwise it’s wonderful—the paper is super thick, almost like a “cloth” paper, if you know what I mean. And of course the gilded edges are beautiful.I really enjoy how much space is given for (almost) all of the prompts. An issue I’ve had with other books is that they ask a question like “tell us the room by room layout of every house you’ve ever lived in”, but then they only give you four lines to do so. I haven’t looked at *every* page, but every page I’ve looked at gives you an entire page to write your response.The only exception (and a thing that definitely made me say “huh?”) is the first page where you record your familial information. Your mother and your father are each given their own line to record their full names, D.O.B, and birth place. But grandparents (of which the vast majority of people have *at least* four), as well as siblings (which could be anywhere from zero to dozens!) are also each only given a single line to record the information. “Children and grandchildren” are given four lines—which, I suppose based on the downward trending US birth rate, that may be plenty for current/future generations. But to use my maternal grandmother as an example, she alone had three children and seven grandchildren!The above is really my only criticism though. The rest of the book is lovely and I look forward to filling it for my daughter and any other future children I may have!

I AM A GENEALOGIST BY TRADE AND I STONGLY BELIEVE EACH GENERATION HAS MEMORIES, STORIES AND VALUES THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM. IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP THOSE ALIVE SO THE NEXT GENERATION CAN REAP THE REWARDS OF OUR KNOWLEGE & EXPERIENCES.I AM A HUGE FAN OF JOURNALS THAT ENCOMPASS LIFE STORY FORMAT. SINCE THE 1980'S I HAVE BEEN PURCHASING BEAUTIFUL JOURNALS THAT GIVES THE WRITER THE ROADMAP TO CREATE A LASTING LEGACY OF KNOWLEDGE AND HOPE TO THOSE DESCENDANTS LEFT TO CARRY ON THE MANTLE.I KNOW FROM FINDING ANTIQUE WRITINGS, FROM RELATIVES, SUCH AS LETTERS, DEEDS, WILLS, ETC., THE GREAT VALUE I HOLD IN MY HANDS. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF MY GREAT-GREAT-GREATGRANDMOTHER JOUNAL FROM 1800 WHEN HER FAMILY IMIGRATED FROM SCOTLAND TO AMERICA. I WAS TOLD BY MY GREATAUNT THAT THERE WAS NOTHING OF VALUE IN THERE. BUT THE FAMILY HAD ALWAYS WONDERED WHEN AND WHERE SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE MARRIED. AS I READ THROUGH THAT JOURNAL THERE WERE AS MY GREATAUNT SAID, "THERE IS NOTHING OF ANY VALUE IN THERE ONLY HOW MANY EGGS SHE COLLECTED OR HOW MANY ROWS OF VEGETABLES SHE PLANTED OR HARVESTED ETC."READING THROUGH HER JOURNAL THERE WAS A WONDERFUL ENTRY SAYING, "ON THIS DAY 50 YEARS AGO MY HUSBAND I WERE MARRIED IN GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO." I RANG MY AUNT UP AND TOLD HER OF MY WONDERFUL FIND IN THAT JOURNAL THAT HAD "NO VALUE."I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CALM COLLECTIVE LEGACY JOURNAL. BUY ONE FOR EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY ESPECIALLY YOUR ELDERS. BECAUSE, ONCE THEY PASS ON, THEIR MEMORIES ARE GONE FOREVER! (UNLESS, THEY KEEP THEIR MEMORIES ALIVE IN THIS LEGACY JOURNAL)

This book has pages with a prompt for each one to trigger memories or insights into the writer's life and character.I'll be leading a group in writing childhood memories and creating a memory book to pass along to their children or grandchildren. As part of that, I wanted to recommend books such as this for them to use in their project. There are many such books out there, but some are rather simplistic. This one asks questions designed to bring out thoughts that a senior might not think about sharing.I'll wholeheartedly recommend this one. The cover is leather-like and the pages are a generous size for writing the memories. It will be treasured by the recipient.

I gave this to my mom because I want to record some of those things that I'd perhaps never think to ask her but would love to know more about. This journal is great because it has a lot of good prompts in it, some requiring a lot of thought and effort and some that are more lighthearted and fun. The journal itself feels well made and the paper is good quality and thick. I've not written in it myself but the paper feels like one that a pen will just glide over; I'll update the review once my mom starts using it. The only drawback is that it would be so much easier to write in if it was spiral bound. I know that would take away from the aesthetic of the journal but it would make the writing experience more enjoyable, and I imagine a little easier, especially for those aging who don't have as much dexterity as they once did. Overall, would definitely recommend this product if you're interested in preserving memories and stories.

As a writer by trade and the oldest living female in my family of origin, the writing prompts in this calm, collective legacy journal are what's convinced me to start preserving family stories for future generations. The invitation to embark on such a journey has been a great gift to me; once it's done I can only hope it will also be a gift in kind to future generations.