Review: Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston

Since Justin Campbell's disappearance four years ago, his family have been stuck in the grooves of grief, unable to comfort themselves let alone one another. His mother, his father, his younger brother, each have been living in a dream world for the last 4 years, coping the best they can.

And then the call from the police. Justin has been found and he is okay. It is a miracle.

But instead of righting the imbalances within this struggling family, Justin's return only lays bare the effects of his trauma, both on himself and his family, threatening to snap the last threads that hold the Campbells together.

Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Expected publication: May 13th 2014 by Random House


Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is May 13, 2014. Thank You!

This book begins where most leave off. It explores the depth of emotions that a family struggles with after surviving the unimaginable. Where most would think that the happily ever after begins is where this book details what one family goes through. It is raw, honest and heart wrenching in its description of what each member of the Campbell family endures.

The book itself is slow moving but rich and powerful in emotion and depth. There are stories in the news all the time about people returning home after being kidnapped but I have never really thought of the struggles that occur after the fact for everyone and not just the victim...until now.

Each character carries so much guilt, jealousy, sorrow and paranoia and Johnston details every aspect of it in such a beautiful yet painful manor. His writing style is almost poetic. If you are looking for an uplifting read you will not find it in this book. In this book you will find an extremely emotional but honest account of what a family goes through after trauma.

I want to say that I really enjoyed this book but it feels wrong to say that given the content. What I will say instead is that this story is going to stick with me for a very long time.

About the Author

Bret Anthony Johnston is the author of the award-winning Corpus Christi: Stories, which was named a best book of the year by The Independent (London) and The Irish Times, and the editor of Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer. His work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Paris Review, The Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature fellowship and a 5 Under 35 honor from the National Book Foundation. He teaches in the Bennington Writing Seminars and at Harvard University, where he is the director of creative writing.

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