Some call it a journal. Others say log, diary, chronicle, or notebook. Whatever the word, the key idea is that you create a written record of your thoughts, feelings, and memories at regular time ...

A garden is a living, breathing space that changes with each passing day. From the first tender shoots of spring to the final harvest of autumn, countless stories are unfolding right in your backyard.

From hospital stays to Shabbat dinners, a few lines a day became a Jewish way of reckoning with memory, loss — and the comfort of routine. In January 2011, I wrote my first entry in a five-year diary.