Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Vanessa Carnevale, HQ Fiction, $29.99.
No memories, no life. It would certainly be very difficult to lead a normal life if we couldn’t remember anything about ourselves. Would you want to continue living a life when you don’t remember anything about it?
Such is the case with Gracie Ashcroft who suffers severe amnesia following an accident. She, like many of us, doesn’t want to live a life where you have to rely on the memories of others. For example, this note from her fiancé Blake:
Dear Gracie,
Here are some things you should know:
The yellow toothbrush is mine.
You sleep with your socks on.
You set your alarm for 5:45 am every morning and then you go for a run.
You and I were the closest thing to perfect I ever knew in my life.
Love, Blake
There are no guarantees that Gracie will remember the love of her life. Frustration sets in as she cuts herself off from the world and insulates herself in the apartment, slowly trying to re-learn life’s basic skills that had vanished.
A timely phone call from a real estate agent leads to this story taking a distinctive direction. She moves to the country where she takes on the task of reviving her late mother’s abandoned flower farm.
In the process of rediscovering herself, the farm helps her to reconnect with some of her memories and unearth an association with the flowers (she even remembers the names).
Gracie wants to find purpose where there is friendship, healing and meaning. Blake is a stranger, but Flynn, a local vet, is not. A captivating read that makes you think: is it possible to live the same life twice … when given a second chance.
