The Weight of Memory

If ignorance is bliss, then memory can be tortuous, until it reaches the level of redemption for the characters in this deeply-faceted Southern novel.


Destin, Florida, has a reputation as the vacation town of the well-to-do.  For Leigh, searching for the sense of belonging, it is the place of dreams—somewhere she is called by memories of her friends from high school, Chandler and Sarah. 

 

Out of touch after the long years since graduation, the three women now face their challenges alone: Leigh, running from namelessness in her hometown and confronted by the specter of the father she never knew; Sarah, exiled from a marriage in disrepair and ever at odds with her distant, exacting father; and Chandler, betrayed by her husband but finding new fascination in a man named Walker, who suffers from recurring amnesia. All are haunted by the death of Trey, the boy they all loved in high school, and the suicide of Chandler’s father ten years earlier. When the three come together one unforgettable night in deserted Destin as Hurricane Katrina rocks the Gulf Coast, their reunion sets off a chain of events that will rip open new doors for each of them—to past tragedy, fresh love and a place to call home.


About the Author


Jennifer Paddock is the author of the novels A Secret Word and Point Clear.  She received an M.A. in creative writing from New York University, and her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Stories From The Blue Moon Cafe, The North American Review, Other Voices, Garden and Gun, and Mr. Beller's Neighborhood. Jennifer’s awards include If All Arkansas Read the Same Book (2004), Book Sense Pick (2004), and a 2008-2009 literature fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. She was featured twice in The New York Times.