A review by romiress
I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia by Su Meck

4.0

I received this book as part of Goodread's First Reads program, although I first spotted it in a bookstore. The concept sounded interesting, and like something I would be genuinely interested in reading. Getting it through First Reads was a great perk, and I'm happy I got a chance to read it. it was definitely outside what I normally read, which tends to be Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction. I read the rare biography, and I find that how good they are tends to vary.

The story itself is definitely engaging, and I found the writing to be quite good. At times it comes off as a bit simplistic, but considering that the author still occasionally forgets how to write at all, it's an impressive work. There are lots of questions left unanswered, and strangely enough, it works for the novel. It makes it more obvious how painful it must be for Su, to go through her life not knowing those things not about a stranger who she's reading a book about, but about herself.

I found it did drag a bit in the middle, and the pacing felt a bit off. Part of this seems to be because she'd fallen into a routine, and not a whole lot was happening, but part of it was simply the writing. Beyond that lull, the book was hard to put down in general, and I sped through it in a single day, eager to know how she would deal with all her issues.

It's a small miracle she's still alive, and it's definitely an eye opener for those who might be dealing with friends or family suffering from amnesia, even if their cases are not as extreme as Su Mecks.