A hairbrush, a Christmas ornament, a colander, an ice scraper. Sometimes the simplest objects trigger the strongest memories of a lost loved one, which is why they’re often saved by survivors. For more than a decade, Jody Servon, with collaborator Lorene Delany-Ullman, has been documenting these treasured objects and gathering their stories.

What does the item say about the lost loved one? What fond memories does it trigger? Their book “Saved: Objects of the Dead” (Artsuite) is a collection of photos as well as prose poems written to convey each object’s significance. 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.