The following review was contributed by CAROLYN HOWARD-JOHNSON

In the acknowledgements of Before You Forget, Kelly Dumar, M. Ed., tells us that this is a book with a fairy godmother. I believe if this educator and avid diarist convinces only one person to keep a diary for posterity that she will be the fairy godmother.

As a novelist who is believes that much of the world's best fiction (Williams, Faulkner) springs from true stories and family experiences, I, too, try to convince writers to publish for either their families or for the public. Dumar goes one step farther. She makes it a duty of a parent. ""Children trust you to remember, but you will forget,"" she says. Thus she charges a parent with record keeping at a bare minimum and keeping a diary as a near fiduciary duty.

Dumar leads, however, rather than pushes. This is a how-to book but also a book of inspiration and a memoir. She convinces the reader of its value: It ""feeds the illusion that I never have to leave my children,"" she says. That is true of all writing, the driving force for most-if not all-of us, consciously or unconsciously. The value here is that she gently convinces us not only that we should do it if we have been procrastinating, but also how to do it if we already have a start on such a project.

Lest anyone should wonder if Kelly Dumar is equipped for such a task, she took her master's degree in education from Harvard University and has been keeping diaries for her own children for over a decade. She is also a creative arts therapist and a workshop facilitator.