Home is difficult and shocking, but it’s where we grow. My life in my old home is finished. None remains but old memories, preserved for me to walk through like a museum. Labels hang on each and every door — one reads, “Mall Food Court (2017-2021) / Remember that one time?”

Audrey Chen can’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia every time she walks into the Subway on Forbes Avenue and sees how thin the sandwiches are. “Whenever I go to Subway — we also have the same...