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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jan 2016, 336 pages
Paperback:
Aug 2017, 336 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Sarah Tomp
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16-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital's mental ward after a failed suicide attempt. Now she must find a path to recovery - and perhaps rescue some others along the way.
When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn't be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she's never had.
But Vicky's newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending Vick back to the life that drove her to suicide, she must try to find her own courage and strength. She may not have them. She doesn't know.
Inspired in part by the author's own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one - about living when life doesn't seem worth it, and how we go on anyway.
Nana
I tried to write you in Spanish but my
Español no es muy
bueno en este momento. So I try in English. If you're reading
this it's because you found it taped to the back of Mamá's
painting. Take the painting with you to Mexico and the
climbing pink roses will remind you of Mamá and maybe
of me too. I know you're sad now as you read this. I wish I
could tell you not to be triste but I know you. Think of something happy and funny like the time I finally got you to go in
the pool because it was good for your arthritis. Remember
how I laughed and you screeched when we went in? How you
held on to me for dear life? The Spanish word I never heard
you say before when I let go of you.
Nana I want to tell you this. Please don't think I don't
love you or that I don't love Becca or Father or Barbara either. I
held off from doing this for a long, long time because I knew
how bad you and everyone would feel. But the ...
Key Idea and Details
The Memory of Light sends a message to a depressed teen that he or she is not alone. I would also recommend it to friends and family members looking to understand a loved one's fight with depression. It certainly helps to answer Vicky's question: "How can you love someone and still want to kill yourself?"..continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Sarah Tomp).
Martha Brockenbrough, author of The Game of Love and Death
The Memory of Light takes you to that strange, cold planet that is depression. Vicky's journey back from the darkness doesn't simplify or sentimentalize the pain of mental illness. Francisco Stork has shows us the universe of the human mind, how it can be terrifyingly dark - and how, in the company of the right sort of heart - infinitely dazzling. Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Isla and the Happily Ever After
The Memory of Light is filled with hard truths and beautiful revelations. It's a beacon of hope for those in the dark of depression. This book just might save your life.According to Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), suicide is the second leading cause of death in people 15-24 years of age, and ranks tenth when considering all ages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, eight percent of all people over the age of twelve suffer from depression in any two-week period. Although females are more likely to experience a major bout, males' related suicide attempts are more likely to end in death.
In addition to The Memory of Light, several recently published books for teens explore the issues of depression and suicide in teens.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Told in alternating points of view, this tells the tragic love story of two ...
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