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The Why Factor: Why Do We Need Diaries?

Diaries

14/08/2015

Why Do We Need Diaries?

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Why Do We Need Diaries?

They hold our secrets, and preserve our memories, but why do we need diaries?

They keep our secrets safe and preserve our memories, but many have been hidden or destroyed. Why do we write diaries?

We trust them with our deepest secrets, and use them to preserve our memories. They’ve been hidden, destroyed, and read without permission. Mike Williams talks to people who write diaries, and the historians on a mission to "rescue" the diaries of normal people.

Produced by Hannah Moore

(Photo: A handwritten page from a diary. Credit: Mike Williams)

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