The Memory of Us: a story of love, war and difficult choices

The Memory of Us by Camille Di Maio is a story of choices and their consequences. In 1937, Julianne Westcott was an 18-year old Protestant girl living the dream life in Liverpool. The illusion of her perfect life and family is shattered when she discovers she has a twin brother, a brother who is blind and deaf, and that her parents sent to an institution While secretly visiting her brother, Julianne meets and befriends Kyle McCarthy, an Irish Catholic groundskeeper studying to become a priest. They soon find themselves caught between her family’s expectations, Kyle’s devotion to the Church and the intense feelings they seem to have for each other. Julianne and Kyle must make a choice: do they follow the life and expectations they have before them or do they choose the difficult path of love? As war rages through Europe and the Blitz devastates England, a tragic accident leaves Julianne to forge a new life built on lies. Lies she tells herself protect those she loves. Will the truth find her? Will she be brave enough to face the choices she made? 

The Memory of Us came highly recommended and I looked forward to reading it. However, it was not the story I expected. It was an easy, fast paced story. I finished it in a few hours. The first two-thirds of the book were good. I loved the romance between Julianne and Kyle. The last third of the book is where the story fell for me. It was difficult to understand the motivation behind Julianne’s decision to forge her new life. It seemed to come out of the blue and without any indication that it was a decision she needed to make. Julianne was a hard character to understand. At times she is strong and willing to stand up to anyone, then she bows down to the demands of others and back again. The ending was supposed to be heartwarming and sweet but it felt forced and too tidy. Other reviewers mentioned the references to The Beatles’ 1966 song “Eleanor Rigby.” I am not overly familiar with the song to pick up any references. Those who are familiar with the song may enjoy the references. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I do recommend it. 

The Memory of Us is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook.