FLEUR DE LIVRES JOURNAL BOOKS

Leave them your heart.

My Dad passed in 2022 . He was almost ninety years old . I miss him so much.

After his passing, my mother handed me something for me to keep. “ Dad would’ve wanted you to have this.” It was his own father’s journal .

As a child, I would ask my father if I could see it. Dad would go to a special box in his armoire - the one filled with dad things : a bar of men’s soap, c uff links, a shoe horn , an old cigarette lighter, a gold pocket watch, and my grandfather's journal . He would hand me the book and caution me to be gentle as I would peruse its pages . It was so small- bar ely bigger than my own little hand . I was captivated .

Meticulous handwriting and the occasional droplet of ink brought my grandfather to life. It smelled ancient, and even a little mysterious, as I imagined my grandfather carefully documenting his thoughts and feelings . He was born a quiet person - labeled “ deaf and dumb” by those of the hearing world . He referred to himself this way and it struck me as cruel and unfair . How could someone so learned and kind think of himself as dumb ?

"I cannot yet marry the Miss Amanda, for I have not known her a fortnight," he wrote after meeting my grandmother . It was a bean supper in Portland, Maine . And he was in love.

My grandfather died tragically in 1935, when Dad was barely two years old. Thr oughout the course of my life , I'd always felt a strong connection to the spirit of my grandfather . He lived in that little journal and I could visit him whenever Dad would hand me the tiny book with the beautiful penmanship. For my own father, this was his only link to the loving nature of his d ad and the world from which he was born.

This little journal is one of my most cherished possessions.

Feel inspired to tell your story.

I nheriting this sacred journal and the power of its connection is what inspired my new line of journal books .

I am obsessed with encouraging others in the art of journaling. Telling our stories is how we live on and , most importantly, journal books are tangible- you can hold them in your hands and touch the paper . The se books

are the p hysical link between the present and the past . In a world of temporary texts and cellphone photography, leaving a personal legacy may be the most important thing we can do for each other - for humanity .

My journal books are designed to be your family heirlooms . I sincerely hope that they inspire you to slow down and tell your story . Your documented experiences, thoughts and expressions may one day bring comfort to those who knew you , and to those who wished they had.

-Dominique Lise