A Conversation about ... The Eternal Life of Stuff

Book excerpt: Imagine sitting in a cafe, sharing a running conversation with a good friend about all the wonderful things life has brought to your table. You’re probably also sharing a piece of freshly baked apple pie as you discuss this book that both of you have just finished reading. All the stuff in your life that you’ve been holding onto becomes part of the conversation. Collections of comic books, closets filled with long-forgotten but still-loved stuff, and even the rock collection in the back of your sock drawer comes alive through the stories that “The Eternal Life of Stuff” hands to you. Where has all your stuff gone? Did you give it to charity or sell it at a yard sale? Maybe you simply lost it. All this is what this book is about. Even more, it illuminates something of greater value than the things you’ve collected. This book shines the bright light of conversation into the sometimes-dim corners of memory. “The Eternal Life of Stuff” – sometimes sad, but mostly uplifting and full of humor – is about experiencing the energy of memory. During a lull in this cafe conversation, your friend asks, “Please pass the sugar?” You happily comply, and as you do, your hands briefly touch. Yet, it is enough, and your conversation continues. This book is that sweet. You both get up to leave, and the conversation lingers in your memories, adding a beautiful layer of depth and meaning to your friendship. This is the really good stuff that binds you together. It is the stuff that reminds you what is important and what is not; the stuff that lives, not just in the hearts of these two imagined friends, but in all hearts – eternally.