Vanessa Carnevale, The Memories of Us
One moment can change your life
When Gracie Ashcroft wakes after a crash with severe amnesia, she must choose whether to live a life through other people’s memories or to start a new life all her own.
Discovering her late mother left her an old flower farm, Gracie leaves her fiancé, best friend and the home full of forgotten memories behind, hoping to learn who she is now.
Torn between wishing she could remember and afraid of losing what she now has, Gracie starts to wonder: if you had your time over, would you live the same life twice?
The feel-good novel that fans of Lucy Dillon and Ruth Hogan will love.
Discovering her late mother left her an old flower farm, Gracie leaves her fiancé, best friend and the home full of forgotten memories behind, hoping to learn who she is now.
Torn between wishing she could remember and afraid of losing what she now has, Gracie starts to wonder: if you had your time over, would you live the same life twice?
The feel-good novel that fans of Lucy Dillon and Ruth Hogan will love.
Extract
I knew what he meant by that—both he and Scarlett have made it clear they think that me refusing to see Blake or anyone else is a bad idea. While keeping family and friends away isn’t an issue, keeping Blake away is turning out to be a bigger kind of problem.
‘He’s beside himself,’ says Scarlett. ‘Seeing him might help you remember. He can answer any questions you have, run you through the kinds of things you used to do together—’
‘That’s not what I want,’ I reply, my voice flat. I dig my spoon into a tub of jelly without enthusiasm. I can’t seem to stomach anything on my plate let alone the snacks Scarlett has brought me: kale chips, goji berries, a zip-lock bag filled with some kind of assortment of seeds.
Blake has shown up at the hospital every day to try to see me. Today is no exception. It’s six pm and on cue, there’s a knock on the door.
‘Gracie, it’s me. Can I come in? I brought your favourite magazines and some photos of our trip to Fiji,’ says Blake through the gap in the door.
My body freezes. I push away the tray. I wish everyone would understand that I don’t want to have to remember my life, or our life, through his eyes or anyone else’s eyes. I want to remember through my eyes.
‘What should I do, Gracie? I can’t keep turning him away like this,’ says Scarlett.
‘Ask him what I loved most about my mother.’
‘How is this relevant right now?’ She frowns at me.
I don’t answer her.
She goes to speak but holds back. ‘Fine,’ she mutters, shaking her head.
‘Scarlett, what’s going on?’ says Blake. ‘What’s she saying?’
Scarlett glances at me uncomfortably before leaving the room.
‘The way she always managed to find a way to smile,’ she declares upon re-entering a minute later. ‘So, can I let him in now?’
I clench my jaw and take a deep breath, lowering my head against my knees. What Scarlett remembers about my mum, isn’t what Blake remembers and isn’t necessarily what I would remember. Which means that if I let the people that know me tell me about who I was and what I liked, and who I should be, and what I should feel and how I should feel it, I’ll have no way of knowing if that’s the truth for me.
‘We can’t just leave him standing there in the hallway,’ she says.
I busy myself by tearing open a packet of chips and sniff them, inhaling their not-quite-so-appealing vegetable scent.
She sighs. ‘Fine. Let me take care of it.’ She exits the room but leaves the door slightly ajar. I can still make out her voice—only just.
‘I’m looking after her, leave it with me. If you don’t want her to continue to refuse to see you, you need to listen to what she wants. Because if you go in there right now she might completely push you away. She’s confused and she’s still in shock. She’ll come around with time.’
‘What if she doesn’t let me back in her life? I don’t want to lose her.’
‘You won’t. She loves you,’ she replies, but even I notice the waver in her voice.
I squeeze the packet of chips between my hands, crushing the crisp leaves into tiny pieces. Maybe the one thing we all know for sure, is that I’m already lost.
Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the story of Gracie and Blake, who are both involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, this results in Gracie losing her memory and being unable to remember anything. She returns to the flower farm that her mother left her when she died to try and find herself again and realise what is important to her.
This was a really heartfelt, and emotional read. I cannot begin to imagine how hard life would be if you lost your memory of everything that made you the person you are. The author has written this book so gently and thoughtfully towards how Gracie would be feeling and her struggles in life.
This is certainly a beautifully written book, with a surprise ending thrown in.
Highly recommended.
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