It's normal to have anxiety around forgetting parts of our past, but the process can be beneficial to our life experience, says author Lewis Hyde.
Hyde talks with KERA's Think host Krys Boyd about how forgetting can allow for profound change and make space for new ways of thinking. His new book is called “A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past.”
"We partly know who we are by our experiences and what we remember," Hyde says, "and part of our attachment to memory is our attachment to identity."
Hyde says letting go of past memories is natural and can help us reevaluate old routines.
"Our habits of mind are very useful," Hyde says. "They keep us on an even keel. They help us navigate the world, but they also tend to filter the world. Thinning out your habits of mind is a useful first step if you can figure out how to do it."
