The Memory of Light

De: Francisco X. Stork

Narrado por: Frankie Corzo

School: failure. Romance: failure. Family: failure. Suicide: failure.

This brave and moving novel by the author of Marcelo in the Real World is about the one thing left: living.

When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: She can't even commit suicide right. But for once, a mistake works out well for her, as 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 her back to the life that drove her to suicide, Vicky must try to find the strength to carry on. She may not have it. 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.

©2016 Francisco X. Stork (P)2016 Scholastic Inc.

a beautiful story about living

Sometimes living takes courage by the person living with depression. This story paints a beautiful story about being courageous enough to live. The narration is superb.

Great read about what it is like to deal with teen depression

Realistic, gripping look at teen suicide and mental illness. The story follows Vicky as she recovers from a suicide attempt and works to understand how to move forward with her life. She meets other teens who are dealing with different forms of mental illness, and all have challenges in their home lives. Readers get an unflinching take on what it's like to live with mental illness and how hard it is to explain it to friends and family.

Young Adults

Excellent for young adults only and I rated it for that category. The narration is clearly spoken but as an adult, not young, that valley girl type inflection is extremely annoying--like the entitled millennials. (I had to speed it up to almost 2x.)

Amazing!

This book is great for anyone trying to understand mental illness. I was in a psych ward unfortunately and it was exactly like that. So amazing because hearing this story makes me feel that maybe people who read this can understand it’s not just them struggling.