Super Short Summary

The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok recounts the author’s challenging relationship with her schizophrenic mother, culminating in their final encounter after seventeen years apart. The narrative weaves through Bartok's childhood marked by her mother's mental illness, her own struggle with a traumatic brain injury following a car crash, and the concept of creating a "memory palace" to cope with lost memories, ultimately exploring themes of familial duty, personal identity, and reconciliation. Sensitive topics include mental illness, homelessness, familial abandonment, and the impact of a traumatic brain injury.