Forty-five writers share personal stories of Curious Stuff—mementos, treasures, white elephants, and junk. These are stories about items in their possession—or things they once had and wish they still did (or not)—and the stories behind them. They skillfully reveal the hidden tales that would have been forgotten unless they wrote it down.

(Excerpt from Introduction):

In this collection, we learn about things treasured because they spark loving memories: the tattered scrapbook of a hardscrabble grandmother, a single photograph freezing in time the innocence of being young together, a worthless collection of figurines made priceless because of its story, a century-old songbook filled with revealing handwritten verses, a treasured drawing that still draws out a tender feeling of romantic love. We have stories of things lost—a longed-for rocking chair lost in miscommunication, a much-coveted, battle-worn book that devastatingly disappeared, the baby gift kept special and unused way, way too long. We read stories of the unusual—the Santa who traded his sleigh for a red Volkswagen, an old aunt’s bed still shaking like a passing train with childhood clambering, a family’s penchant for collecting hair across generations, and a worrisome, costumed stuffed parrot that keeps showing up at all the family’s special celebrations.