My Thoughts:

I love diving into Joanna’s books because they always incorporate music in some way as a healing mechanism or something that the characters latch onto for strength. In this book it represents both things. A story about how our memories shape is, heal us, and help us understand ourselves. 

The main character has lost all her memories after an accident and the entirety of this story is two characters juxtaposed with one another tracing their own memories and challenges. Our main character Merryn is telling her story from 1913 as she tries to regain her past and find her future. While we’re also paired with William in 1947 as he’s living in Dunn Cottage, a place tied directly to Merryn’s story, as he’s grappling with his own demons. 

I can’t say too much about the actual story because it would be filled with spoilers, but I want to hone in on how this book made me feel. The way Joanna wrote this one allows you to explore the state of confusion and questioning that Merryn is experiencing as it goes along. You are not given the history and must explore it from her perspective. This creates a deep feeling of curiosity and hesitation. There are things that start to unfold that make you question people’s intentions and whether or not they are a danger to Merryn.

But then as it goes on, you feel the deep loss of love that Merryn has been missing and travelling those roads of discovery with her. One of the biggest things I took away from this story was how important our relationships and love truly are. I’ve been married for 20 years this summer and I can truly relate with Merryn’s revelations in a very personal way. Love is never easy, it comes with many layers of feelings and can push us to say or do things that put as at risk of losing all of it. 

I’m sitting here after finishing this book and reflecting on how much love means to me and how lost I would feel without it. It’s devastating to think about how it would feel to not remember being loved or how much your love for someone means to you. How it shapes who you are and the importance of it all. It wraps itself around you and shakes the very essence of who you are inside and out.

The other main theme in this story is fear. Fear of the unknown, the fear of rejection and running away from those things that we just aren’t ready to face. Both William and Merryn experience this throughout the entire book. It’s revealing how much fear and love both drive us as humans to question ourselves and our own decisions. They both run from their gears and then eventually find the bravery and fortitude to face those fears, and in that culmination the peace they both find is comforting and humbling. Lots to reflect on with this one and I love it so much for that fact.