Janine Rosche’s With Every Memory is a standalone novel covering a modern woman and her traumatic brain injury. It is a bit of a slower ready and definitely filled with challenging and perhaps unpleasant topics. The bright spot in the story is being connected to another character from another book by the author. Otherwise the read wasn’t something I would recommend or think about much. 

Lori Mendenhall can’t remember much from the past 8 years of her life. As a result, she sees today’s events with an uneducated eye. The character of Lori’s daughter Avery really tugs at the heartstrings. The author tries to really gather sympathy for all of her characters, but Avery stands out quite a bit. The whole situation is difficult and hard to imagine.

The character of Lori’s husband, Michael, is very interesting. He almost comes across as a vilified hero…no, not perfect, but one who has put up with quite a lot. There are tender moments, romantic moments, and moments of deep, almost soul-crushing anguish. All of these combine to create an emotional experience designed to cause great introspection, but in reality the characters just don’t feel connected to the reader.

Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy Provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  A character threatens to hit someone with a baseball bat; characters get into a fight and draw blood.

Sex/Nudity: Characters mention someone using sexual terms to describe the person; a person is referred to as regularly making sexual comments about others; people refer to a character as easy; a teen was reported to have purchased a hotel room with the intention of participating in sexual activities, none occur or are described; married couple engages in kissing and it is implied sexual activities will follow, it does, but nothing is described, just hinted at; a woman reports she was pregnant when she got married; a person recalls an event in the past where her clothes dropped by the bed, implying sexual activity; a character says someone had an affair; a person asks if someone’s spouse is an adulterer; a report of a person posting pictures revealing another person’s private parts; a character recalls an event in which she was raped.

Mature Subject Matter: 

Death of a family member, traumatic brain injury, bullying, sexual assault.

Drugs/Alcohol Use: 

Reference to times when high school children were high and drunk.