Fictional Diaries and Archives

My humanities moment happened when I read a book for school written in the form of a diary. Even though it was fiction, it showed me how diaries and journals can be useful for historical knowledge. As someone who now goes to archives to read "dead people's mail," I appreciate how fictional accounts such as the one I read in grade school can teach kids about historical empathy, how history is recorded, and how these personal experiences of the past are important for future knowledge.