In many ways, who we are is shaped by what we remember, yet our recollections aren't always a reliable account of the past. This collection gathers texts that explore the ideas, theories, and challenges conjured by memory.
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 1965
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy
Tags Grief / Death, Free verse
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African American Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Children's Literature
Publication year 1966
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Disability
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology
Daniel Keyes’s science fiction novel Flowers for Algernon (1966) is the story of a man’s journey from having an intellectual disability to gaining extraordinary intelligence—and his regression when an experimental procedure to “correct” his disability goes wrong. Keyes first published a short story titled “Flowers for Algernon” in 1959, which won the Hugo Award for best science fiction short story, before publishing it as a full-length novel, which won the Nebula award for science fiction... Read Flowers For Algernon Summary
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Inspirational, Fantasy, Self Help
For One More Day, by Mitch Albom, tells the story of Charles “Chick” Benetto, a retired baseball player fallen on hard times. The story is framed by a prologue and epilogue where a narrator explains that they are telling the story from Chick’s perspective, “because I’m not sure you would believe this story if you didn’t hear it in his voice” (7). The book is comprised of short chapters told in the first person, and... Read For One More Day Summary
Publication year 1968
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Publication year 1947
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Free verse, Race / Racism, History: U.S.
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Aging, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Romance, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Humor, Classic Fiction
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a 1987 novel by American author and actress Fanny Flagg, who also wrote an award-winning screen adaption of the book. The narrative contains two interconnected stories that unfold several decades apart. The frame narrative, which takes place in Birmingham, Alabama between December 1985 and December 1986, depicts the developing friendship between a middle-aged housewife named Evelyn Couch and an elderly widow named Ninny Threadgoode. As the... Read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Summary
Publication year 1990
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family
Tags Allegory / Fable / Parable, Grief / Death, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction
“Friend of My Youth” is the title short story from the collection of the same name by Alice Munro, published in 1990. The collection won the 1990 Trillium Book Award, which recognizes writers from Ontario, Canada.Narrated in the first person, the story is told from the perspective of an unnamed female writer in mourning for her mother, who died some years earlier of Parkinson’s disease. The narrator describes a recurrent dream that she used to... Read Friend of My Youth Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Music
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Family
Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children's Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2001
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management, Self Help, Psychology, Psychology
Publication year 1863
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags History: U.S., American Civil War
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Gender / Feminism
Publication year 1979
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons
Tags Historical Fiction, Christian literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction
Published in 2004, Gilead is Marilynne Robinson’s second novel and the first in the Gilead trilogy, which includes Home (2008) and Lila (2014). The story is written as a letter from dying Congregationalist minister John Ames to his young son. The letter is a bittersweet account of John’s life. With a slow, thoughtful pace and intimate tone, John shares past family memories and resolves an old personal grievance with his best friend’s son. As John... Read Gilead Summary
Publication year 1993
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Depression / Suicide, Mental Illness, Psychology, Gender / Feminism, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Health / Medicine, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Biography
Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary
Publication year 1986
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Globalization, Society: War
Tags Social Science, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Self Help, WWII / World War II, Military / War, Action / Adventure