Unlike my well disciplined business partner who has a fully formed journaling habit, I am a haphazard keeper of my life story. Like most girls in the 60's I had a five year diary with a tiny key. And also like most girls I religiously completed a brief entry every day for, oh, I don't know, two weeks after receiving it. As a teenager, during the obligatory periods of emotional turbulence I would frequently retreat to my room and madly cover pages and pages of notebook paper with my fury, hurt or joy. Then, feeling cleansed, I would just as quickly destroy my writing to be sure my snoopy little sisters could not discover my innermost thoughts. Since then I have experienced bouts of journaling, some more successful than others, and today, scattered through boxes in the basement and drawers in my office, and even in password protected documents on my hard drive are the half-completed reminders that I really do intend to write about my life.

So imagine how happy I was to discover a piece of software that is perfect for people like me, whose preferred form of communication and file organization is the computer. The Journal from DavidRM Software is easy to use, adaptable to all types of writing projects and secure from prying eyes. It has powerful search capabilities so with the click of a few keys you can track down the entry about Great Aunt Martha's surgery two years ago. You can keep a daily journal, or just write poetry or class notes. And if you're really ambitious, the add-on "Memory Grabber" module will help you write your memoirs, with questions that cover every aspect of your life.

The Journal offers a free 45 day trial period - if you are or would like to be a memory keeper or any other kind of writer, check it out and see if it can get you started. Then, let me know what you think.

- Kristi Woodworth