The science of why you can’t forget — and how the memories that hurt most might be the ones that matter most.
What if memory isn’t just something you have, but the very thing you’re made of?
In this episode of The Memory Project, host Andrew Laffoon sits down with cognitive psychologist and Palo Alto University provost Dr. Christie Chung to explore how memories don’t just record your life — they shape who you become.
Memory isn’t a filing cabinet. It’s an ongoing personal narrative, and every time you revisit it, you rewrite it. Dr. Chung breaks down the science behind why emotional moments stick, what “core memories” actually are (and why the concept is more complicated than it sounds), and how nostalgia can be less about the past and more about building your future.
You’ll also learn why family traditions matter more than you think, how storytelling is hardwired into the brain, and how to use your memories — painful ones included — to give your life more meaning and direction.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction: What If Memory Is What You're Made Of
0:43 Is "Core Memory" Real? What Inside Out Invented
3:27 How Memory Builds Your Sense of Self
5:22 Trauma, Crucible Moments, and Redemptive Stories
7:11 Why Photo Books Change What You Remember
10:14 Rose and Thorn: A Family Memory Ritual
12:01 Is Nostalgia Bad for You?
13:19 The Positivity Effect in Aging, and What It Misses
15:51 How Nostalgia Helps You Imagine the Future
18:11 Dr. Chung's Most Meaningful Memory
21:47 Memory as Storytelling
25:09 Core Memories and Neural Networks
26:25 How to Keep Your Memory Sharp as You Age
29:20 Closing Takeaways
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Andrew Laffoon [00:00:00]:
Think about how you would describe yourself to someone who's never met you before, where you're from, what you do, what you've been through. Each one of those is a memory. We talk about memory like it's something we have, a drawer we keep things in, but what if it's not something you have? What if it's the thing you're made of? Welcome back to The Memory Project. We are here again with Dr. Chung. Last week, Dr. Chung, you told us that memory is not a recording. This week we're gonna hear how memory actually shapes us.
Andrew Laffoon [00:00:33]:
Thank you for joining us on the show again.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:00:35]:
Thank you so much for having me. So glad to be here.
Andrew Laffoon [00:00:39]:
Oh, it's such a pleasure. Something we see a lot in culture, for those people who've seen this Pixar movie Inside Out, there's this term called core memory. How, how right is that movie?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:00:51]:
Well, first of all, I love that movie. My daughter also loves Inside Out. Core memory is a term that was made up, you know, for the movie, So it's not necessarily a scientific term, but I could understand why it's so captivating because ultimately there are many memories in our lives that are easy to bring to mind, right? That make who we are. We could even say we have a sense of self because of those memories. So those are really autobiographical memories, meaning that they're memories that define us. They're personal memories. that are episodes from our lives that are really critical. Many of them are emotional memories.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:01:31]:
So they may be emotional as in they're negative or positive, but they're usually memories that really are significant for us personally. And that's why they're called core memory, you know, in the Hollywood scene, but not necessarily untrue because most of us have those memories that make who we are as a human being.
Andrew Laffoon [00:01:52]:
So you talk about the intersection of emotion in the movie. The characters are kind of unreasonably afraid of core memories being tinged by sadness or other emotions that we sometimes perceive as negative. Is that a real thing to be afraid of?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:02:08]:
Not necessarily. I mean, emotional memories are easily remembered for a reason. So I think last time we talked a bit about how memories are formed and the center of memory where, you know, you kind of have to activate the part of your brain called the hippocampus. for memories to be formed into long-term memories. And that part of the brain is right next to the amygdala, which actually gets activated during emotional episodes in our lives. That means that there may be a reason for us to remember emotional memories overall, biologically, for survival reasons, right? It's actually really important to have emotional memories. Think about memories that are threatening to you. Right? Or situations where you have to run away from danger.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:02:53]:
Those may be emotional memories or negative memories that you should keep in your system so that you don't necessarily have to, first of all, go through that again and know how to respond the next time you're in that particular situation again. So I wouldn't say that is a bad thing to have emotional memories. And in fact, it probably is good for survival for us to have those memories, you know, in our system. Yeah, but it is interesting how, you know, movies portray memories and, you know, it gives us something to talk about. So I'm excited, you know, that this is actually out there as a topic of interest for people to discuss.
Andrew Laffoon [00:03:28]:
Yeah, it's really fascinating. How does emotion, the emotional impact or connection with memories, how does that affect the way we build our sense of self?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:03:37]:
You know, the sense of self, you know, it's a big topic obviously in psychology. And when you think about your sense of self, who you are, what you think you could become, and what you have done in the past, that is all based on memories, right? For example, if you're not able to remember what you did as a child, it would be really difficult for you to, to kind of imagine what you could become in the future. And in fact, biologically, we use a very similar brain system to remember the past and to also imagine the future. So that actually tells us a little bit about how we form our self-image, right? In order to imagine who we are now and also imagine what we could become in a year, 5 years, in 10 years' time, you have to draw from your experiences and all of your experiences are stored in your memory. So all of that is connected, they're all interconnected. And when you think about your own memories, if I were to ask you to come up with 5 significant memories in your life, Most likely those were emotional memories because they're easily brought to mind, right? And a lot of times people would actually touch on negative memories first. And the reason is because they're easy, they're easier to bring to mind. They have a more significant impact on your life.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:04:55]:
And there's also the survival instinct, right? You want to remember things that are negative so that you don't have to repeat that situation again or put yourself in danger again in the future. But positive memories too, you know, they're encoded in very similar ways physiologically, and they're also very easily brought to mind. And so that's why, you know, if I were to ask you for 5 memories, you may think about something that is very sad. You may also think of a really significant birthday party that you had that made you really happy, right? So it could go both ways.
Andrew Laffoon [00:05:27]:
Yeah, I think I've always thought about that as those significant negative memories, right? They're more difficult. Those are often the crucible moments, right? And there's some things from my childhood that really shaped who I became. But there was a moment of, is this, is my sense of self a negative shape, a negative thing shaped by this trauma? Or is my sense of self a positive, like a redemptive narrative out of that trauma?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:05:55]:
I guess it could be both, right? I mean, It first of all also depends on the person. Everyone interprets situations differently, and not just memories, but every situation, right? And in the memory study area, we do eyewitness testimony research, for example. Everyone could be in the same crime scene, but when you go and interview all the witnesses, they may give you a slightly different story. Everyone sees things in a slightly different perspective. So if that could happen within one scene, think about all the memories that we have, right, that we could put together into a story for ourselves and for others too. There's collaborative memory that we often put together. You know, let's say you all went to the same restaurant one night and you really enjoyed a certain dish, but your friend didn't. Why is that? I mean, that was the same experience, but you have different perspectives.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:06:47]:
We're all coming from different cultures, different backgrounds, you know, and all of those identities that we bring to the table. And when you think about it, that it makes a lot of sense that we interpret even our own memories in slightly different ways. You know, maybe along the way, right, throughout the 5, 10 years that you may have in between a memory and when you retrieve it, it could potentially be interpreted differently, you know, depending on what you're experiencing at that point.
Andrew Laffoon [00:07:18]:
Yeah, it makes sense, right? Last time we talked about how every time you actually retrieve it, the memory changes. So what relationship does that retrieval transformation have with how memory actually changes us?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:07:32]:
You know, that's a really big question. I mean, ultimately I would say, you know, if you were a healthy adult, you can rely on your memory, you know, pretty, pretty well. I wouldn't say that every time is gonna be completely different that you bring up a memory to, to kind of, Reminisce on. And, but then however, how that changes yourself, your sense of self, I guess would depend on what that particular situation is, right? I think about Mick's book a lot, actually the work that you do in helping people create stories out of their lives. Because when you put stories, I mean, when you put pictures together, you're basically creating a story.
Andrew Laffoon [00:08:14]:
Yeah.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:08:14]:
based on the episodes in your life. And I've done that a lot myself. I have a 10-year-old daughter, so I've made a lot of photo books, you know, especially when she was younger. Every 6 months I would make a photo book. And the reason is because, first of all, as a memory researcher, I don't wanna forget anything, you know, I wanna document. But at the same time, I also realized that, you know, while I was still a new parent, I was really tired all the time. I didn't really have time to organize, you know, all the different episodes and all the memories that we have. So I decided to make this so that I could look back on it and think through what actually happened during that time period.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:08:56]:
So I looked back on some of the books that I made recently, and I realized that I was able to bring back the meaning, right? And it maybe even interpret that particular time in my life with more certainty. Because when you're going through life, you're not necessarily putting that story together, you know, every single day and every single moment, but you are experiencing those episodes. But later on, let's say 2, 3 years later, you realize, hey, when I look back into this particular timeframe, my daughter learned to speak, she learned to walk, she learned to, you know, interact with people, and all those were captured in those small moments. And that gave me meaning, right? And also gave her meaning as well as she starts to realize, oh, that was what I was doing when I was 6 months old, when I was 1 year old. So going back to your question about how to develop that sense of self, I really do think that memory cues help a lot. You know, it helps you create your story. It helps you put more meaning into your story. And I think last time we talked about how I like to rehearse, you know, things.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:10:02]:
that happened during the day with my daughter every night. And the reason is the same, you know, is so that those episodes that we experience are not just episodes, they become something meaningful. And we could do that at a bigger scale if we have a book, you know, if we have things that we could put together to actually talk about those stories many years later.
Andrew Laffoon [00:10:23]:
I love that idea. In our family, we do this. We have this tradition called Rose and Thorn. You've probably heard of it.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:10:29]:
Right?
Andrew Laffoon [00:10:29]:
Where you, from your day, you're like, what was your rose? Okay, that was the good part of your day. What was your thorn? That was the hard part. Sometimes we'll do a bud, which is like the rose you're hoping for the next day, which is always really fun. And the kids engage to some level, maybe less so in the teenage years. And what it's turned into actually is at the end of every trip, we do what we call a rose parade. So everyone just kind of goes around and says some of their highlights from the trip. And you can tell it was a really good trip when it just, the rose parade just goes on and on and on and on and on.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:11:01]:
That's awesome. Wow. I have to steal that trick.
Andrew Laffoon [00:11:05]:
I think it's a good one because I didn't know what it was doing, but I've always noticed after the trip, it's very easy to move on to the next thing. And then it's easy to forget those moments. And you know, those moments of togetherness as a family are precious.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:11:20]:
Yes, and you're basically doing that, you know, along the way, right? Daily, every day, thinking about all those episodes and putting them into meaningful wholes. And as human beings, we do that every single second of our life, if not with memory, with everything else, actually, you know, even with things that we look at. Like, I think I mentioned this last time, we don't like things that are broken as human beings. If you see 2 lines and it's kind of obstructed by something, you tend to connect those 2 lines into one, right? So same thing with memories, same things with, you know, with our episodes that we experience on a daily basis. We like to put things into stories. And if there is a cue or a tool to help us do that even better, that's great.
Andrew Laffoon [00:12:07]:
Makes sense. So, you know, thinking about childhood memories, there's this word that has a mixed reputation in culture, nostalgia. And what's your take on that?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:12:19]:
You know, nostalgia is not necessarily bad, right? I mean, ultimately it's about bringing back certain episodes from your life, basically episodic memories, right, that have significant meaning in your life. So really they're emotional memories. A lot of times, you know, it may get a negative connotation mostly because negative memories are easily brought to mind, just like what I said earlier. In our research, we have seen that that's actually called the emotional enhancement effect. And we see that for both negative and positive, but negative is a little easier. So nostalgia is not always bad, but one thing that it does do for us is that it gives us a way for us to think through past episodes, right? Think about how our life has happened, you know, throughout the different episodes that have happened in our lives. I recently read a really interesting article about nostalgia about ex-partners, people who have, you know, broken up with someone and now have, you know, gotten married with someone else. Thinking about those memories of breakup and what you have experienced in a certain relationship.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:13:32]:
One thing that we know that happens with human beings is that as time goes on, the negativity of certain situations starts to go away. And you start to kind of reminisce on like the positive things, right? All the really, really good times that you've had with a certain partner. And you kind of think through those things and it brings back, you know, you know, loving memories. But a lot of it is actually just how our memory system is working. Memory system, like I said last time, memories are reconstructed every time you bring it to mind. And what we see is that over time, as we start to rehearse and think through past memories, We may delete certain things, we may add other things, but one thing about past experiences is that there's no future to it, right? So it's just something that is kind of stuck in your past, so you can make it into anything that you want. And what we have seen in research, especially in Western world research, is that there is a topic called the positivity effect in aging. So as we grow older, we tend to have less resources, cognitive resources.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:14:39]:
And because of that, in the Western world, I should say, we tend to want to remember more meaningful, positive things. And the reason is because positive information is considered more meaningful in the Western world. And I keep saying that because cross-culturally, I've done some research cross-culturally, that is not always the case. What's meaningful in certain cultures may not necessarily be just positive information. And one example I could give you is Afghanistan. For example, when I did this research, it was still in a war. So in a war-torn country, both positive and negative information are valued. They're both very important, so they're both meaningful.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:15:23]:
So when we went to do this research, we actually didn't find the positivity effect in aging, meaning that as people grew older, they didn't necessarily place more emphasis into remember more positive information, but the, profile of their memory was a lot more balanced. It was more negative and as well as positive and neutral memories as well. So all that is to say, you know, we do see some differences cross-culturally. And, you know, nostalgia in a way is a really interesting topic to me because ultimately it's really just about what you could bring back to life. And we may focus on different things, you know, in different stages. about our lives as well.
Andrew Laffoon [00:16:06]:
Tell me more about that. What, what we could bring back to life. Is this, is the nostalgia, is this nostalgia almost an entryway to imagining a different future?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:16:15]:
You know, that's really funny that you say that because there's actually research that, that shows that if you bring back a certain memory and you kind of, you know, stay with it for a little bit, you may end up being able to actually imagine your future Better because it helps you, it gives you some experience on thinking through how a certain strategy might not have worked in the past, or, you know, how this particular relationship might not have worked out because of certain reasons. And that helps you kind of think through what should I do now in my current relationship? And also to treasure the time that you have with your current partner. So this is actually, You know, one thing that I have learned recently about nostalgia is not, it's not all bad. In fact, what we're really learning as human beings is that we're learning from our own experiences, right? We tell our students, our children to learn from experiences all the time. That's exactly what's happening in your memory system. When you're able to bring back a certain memory or experience, you're learning from it and you're able to kind of build your sense of self and your future actions. Based on it as well.
Andrew Laffoon [00:17:27]:
Makes sense. Yeah, I think I've noticed personally nostalgia is especially connected to places. I go to a place that I used to live or go to the place that I grew up, and the emotion is overwhelming. You don't expect that.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:17:40]:
Right, right. Yeah, a place, or, you know, there may be a memory cue that would bring back those memories. It could be a person, it could be, like I said last time, a certain smell, Smell is actually a really strong memory cue. And the reason for that is because there are not many interferences with smell, right? I mean, we could see many things, we could hear many things. So interference in those types of senses is huge. There's so many things that could distract us, but with smell, there's actually not many distractions. And when there's not many distractions, you're not interfered with many other experiences. So that's why smell becomes a really strong memory cue.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:18:21]:
It's just really distinct, and that could bring back a lot of memories. Yeah, definitely a place, a person, or even a certain type of music, you know, could bring back memories as well.
Andrew Laffoon [00:18:31]:
What would you say is your most meaningful memory?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:18:34]:
That's a great question. I have many. Honestly, to pick one, I would say the birth of my daughter. Yeah, that is definitely a memory with lots of emotions, right? I mean, it's, It's positive. It's also a little negative 'cause it, it was painful. But, you know, having her and just knowing that she's in the world, that particular moment I would never forget. You know, that's just an amazing memory for me.
Andrew Laffoon [00:19:02]:
That's incredible. Yeah, I can totally agree with you. When my daughter was born, I, the moment I held her in my arms, I imagined walking her down the aisle. I imagined, And I, I just began to bawl because there's something of like, wait, I just got this person and she's so special to me and one day I have to give her away. That seems wild, right? But that's what we do.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:19:24]:
Exactly. Yeah. But those few, I think few moments or maybe almost an hour when she was with me right after birth, that was the moment that I would never forget. I mean, that, that's something that's kind of seared into my memory and I, think about that all the time and how much she's grown over the years, you know, how small she was and how big she is now, all of that. But yes, I mean, that's definitely my favorite memory of my life, but I have many more. You know, there's so many significant memories that make me who I am today. So yeah, that's a great question though. What is yours?
Andrew Laffoon [00:20:02]:
I would have to choose between that and My wedding day, which was also very unique, and it just completely seared in my memory. The wedding day, there's a lot more photos, right? So I can easily look back and have memory cue. The birth of the child, there's no photo of me holding her for that first moment. Uh, uh, we have plenty of photos of, of baby Kara. I have to say it's probably the same because again, this, there's these life-defining moments, right? I went from a man and a husband to a father. My whole identity changed. My sense of self changed. My perspective on the world changed.
Andrew Laffoon [00:20:41]:
My understanding of love changed. I didn't— I actually, you know, we talked last night that memory is limitless, which I'm still, by the way, trying to wrap my head around. And you don't think about the idea that love actually feels a lot more unlimited because every time you have a child, it just feels like there's more than enough. It's not like you're trying to You know, share from some limited well, it just wells up.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:21:02]:
That is so true. It is truly unlimited. And what you're saying actually is, is so true too. You know, when you think about how those defining moments actually happen during that moment, I'm sure you're feeling lots of emotions, right? And you're feeling like, oh wow, this is amazing. But the story that you just told me, that is something that you continue to create, you know, as you live your life, right? So, and, and that's why I think it's so important for us to take a record of those moments if possible. You know, like when you were saying, you know, if there are lots of pictures of my wedding, but there are not many pictures of me holding my daughter the first moment she was born. I, I keep thinking about that because in my mind I feel like I took a picture, right? But we all know that is a reconstructed image each time. But the image is so strong and so vivid.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:21:56]:
That it might as well be a picture at this point.
Andrew Laffoon [00:21:59]:
What's funny is the images in my head is actually walking her down the aisle, which is funny because that isn't even a thing that's happened.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:22:08]:
See, that's why memories are reconstructed. Yeah, that is so true.
Andrew Laffoon [00:22:13]:
So let's talk a little bit about memory as storytelling, right? We're talking about how memory is this, it's a key into How do you wanna call it, a door of, of your future? It's a map, right, of things that have happened to you and who you, and they lead back to you in who you are. So how does that work? You know, humans are storytellers. How does memory interconnect with that?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:22:35]:
That's a great question because ultimately without memory, it's kind of hard to make a story, right? I think last time we talked about how there are patients who are not able to remember the past. So what happens is that they live moment to moment. And when you ask them about anything, if you ask them to make up a story or ask them about their future, they'll give you really generic answers because they're not able to draw from their past experiences. So if we're able to use our past experiences to put things into stories, then the story is so much richer, right? It's so much more personal and it makes more sense in many ways. And based on those stories, we continue to develop as a human being. Right? I mean, every single day we learn something new. I'm a provost at a university, so every single day I learn something new about how we do things in each department, each person's personality, right? What the faculty need, what the students need. So all of that, even though I'm experiencing all those experiences every day, it helps if I could come back to them later and think about them as memories that are interconnected.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:23:45]:
Because the inner connection is the storytelling that we do as human beings, right? And if we're able to do that, and especially if we're able to use some tools to help us do that even better, then it's amazing. You know, then you kind of, you could use your brain for other things as well. And the amazing thing about the brain is that long-term memory is unlimited, meaning that you could learn as much as you like for as long as you like, as long as you're healthy. Obviously, you have to. you know, say that too, because there will be situations where we have patients who are not able to do that. But, you know, if you're able to put in information with an unlimited storage, you might as well make stories out of them, right? That are useful, that are actually productive. And so, yeah, I see it that way. And storytelling is a human function that is so, so different and so unique, you know, compared to the rest of the animal kingdom.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:24:43]:
So. Just, yeah, I think it's exciting to think about it.
Andrew Laffoon [00:24:47]:
Makes a lot of sense. I'm reminded again in Inside Out, right? You've got the sense of self, which is this very deep thing attached to all the core memories. And then there's all the, I forget what they call the islands, but there are these, they're not your sense of self, but they're effectively stories or groups of things that are important in your life, whether that's family or a sport that you like to play or being a provost at a university.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:25:11]:
Well, you know, that's a really good way to think about the memory system because I don't know if many people know cognitive psychology and computer science started at the same time. So we actually have a shared history there. And the reason why computer science and cognitive psych needed to happen side by side is because in order to create the computer, you need to understand human brains, right? Because ultimately it's a simulation of human cognition. these machines that we're using right now to make this episode. So it's important for us to understand that cognitive psychology uses a lot of similar theories as computer science. So when you were talking about the different, you know, systems, in my mind, I'm thinking of the activation of the networks. So, I mean, you have a core memory and then you have all of these other memories, peripheral information, bits and pieces of knowledge that gets activated as well. And I think in flow diagrams, 'cause I'm a cognitive psychologist, kind of like a computer scientist, and also in neural networks.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:26:17]:
I mean, those neural networks that we use in AI simulation, that's the same in cognitive psychology. So when you think about all the things that are happening around the core memory that you're trying to activate, there may be things that are somewhat related. You know, they're a little bit outside of the relevance field, but, you know, still somewhat related. They get activated too. And that's why when you start to talk about a certain topic, other things start to come to your mind, right? And if, for example, this conversation, we started with one question and all these other examples came in because your brain isn't just about activating one part or one episode at a time. It's, they're all interrelated. They're all part of a system.
Andrew Laffoon [00:27:00]:
So if you could leave our listeners with one thing that they could do to harness their memory to live a more meaningful life, what would you ask them to do?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:27:09]:
Wow, that, that's a big question. I would say try new things, do different things, because ultimately research has shown that human beings actually don't use the entire capacity of their brain, meaning that we have so much more that we could do with our human capacity. and cognitive capacity. Try a new hobby, you know, pick up something new that you haven't tried before. Maybe even go to a different place and experience that world and make new memories because you just never know. You know, your story becomes richer and more interesting and you also start to develop a different part of your brain when you do that. The more connections, the better. The more connections, the more protective it is into aging.
Andrew Laffoon [00:27:55]:
How much of it is the power of a new perspective?
Dr. Christie Chung [00:27:58]:
Well, I say it's really powerful. I mean, ultimately you're training your brain to do something new. It's kind of like picking up a new sport, right? When you pick up a new sport, you exercise a part of your body that you maybe don't usually use very much. You exercise muscles that you may not necessarily use very much. So same thing with picking up new hobbies and new experiences. You're exercising a part of your neural network or your brain that you don't necessarily use very much. So in a way that allows you to stay fresh, first of all, with, you know, perspectives, but also to actually exercise that muscle, which is your brain in your system that is extremely crucial to everything that you do. And also I would say that your brain is part of your physical system, meaning that the more healthy you are physically, the more healthy your cognition would be.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:28:53]:
So I mean, older adults ask me this all the time 'cause I study memory and aging. How do I keep my memory sharp? And I would always tell them, stay healthy, you know, sleep well, eat well, make sure, you know, you have healthy habits. And they're like, is it really that simple? I was like, well, yes, actually the brain is part of your body. If you don't take care of your body, you're basically not taking care of your brain. So yeah, it all starts with physical health. And yeah, there's so much that we can do every day to make that better.
Andrew Laffoon [00:29:26]:
Dr. Chung, thank you so much for being with us again. We have now not only learned the memory's not a recording, we've learned it, how it shapes us. We've learned that core memories are shaped by emotion, and that's not a bad thing. And that nostalgia is looking back at the past to help us live a better future. Thank you so much for your insights. Thank you for your openness to share about your own life and how your most meaningful memories— I really appreciate your time.
Dr. Christie Chung [00:29:52]:
Thank you so much. That was so much fun, and good luck with this project.
Andrew Laffoon [00:29:56]:
Thank you. I came in believing I have memories, like they're something I own, but I'm leaving thinking it's the other way around. They're what I'm made of. Memories are me. The part I didn't see coming is that it's not only about the past. The same part of me that remembers last summer is the part that pictures next summer. I've been treating all this as a preservation project, but it's not. It's actually about what's ahead.
Andrew Laffoon [00:30:24]:
And the last one isn't an idea. It's an ongoing effort. The story isn't sitting in the photos waiting for me. It only exists if I make it. Next time on The Memory Project, Ann Albertson. Her house burned down on Christmas Eve last year, and it wasn't the first time she's had to start over. We'll talk about what a fire takes, what it can't, and how you keep building a life after loss. Thanks for joining us.
Andrew Laffoon [00:30:51]:
The moments pass in a blink. The stories are what we get to keep. This has been The Memory Project from Mixbook.