Life is good. After struggling through so much of life, you’ve finally found the place you belong, and the one who is meant to stand by your side. Then, in the blink of an eye, all the memories of discovering these things are wiped from your mind. Before We Were Us is the story of Lauren Wentworth, who fell from a ladder and lost an entire, formative, summer.
As a new college graduate, Lauren took a job as the manager of a tourist lodge in New Hampshire as a condition to winner her dream job in Boston: being a bona fide party planner at one of the most prestigious firms in New England. It’s her chance to prove her capabilities to her future employer and she won’t let anything get in the way of the future she’s dreamed of for so long. Except one day she wakes up in the hospital and finds that four months have passed since her last memory, and suddenly the owner’s son she couldn’t stand is saying that somehow they’ve been in a loving relationship all summer long. The two realities are impossible to reconcile in her head, and she’s unsure if she wants to regain her lost memories.
Jonah, her almost fiancée, is devastated. Just on the cusp of their happily ever after, the woman he loves is suddenly all but repulsed by him. He steps back, gives her the space she desperately needs, and waits for her. All he can hope for is that she’ll remember their time together, but when nothing changes even weeks after her injury, he isn’t sure what their future might hold.
What a concept! I think a premise like this naturally tugs at our human heartstrings. Memory is fallible, and so deeply, deeply personal. You can’t convey to another person exactly how something felt, or how it affected you. Even journals probably couldn’t evoke the same feelings if you don’t have the memory to accompany it. You can try. Lord knows, we all try. That’s what literature is. Poetry, and music too…all art in its various shapes forms strives to capture and convey human emotion.
This is a very strong story with many moments of sweetness and heartbreak and necessary, if reluctant, soul searching. There are strong examples of family with themes of overcoming hardships and long-held grievances. Jonah was exemplary in his role as supportive, loving partner. Finding out that Thomas Nelson is a Christian publisher is not surprising. Though I wouldn’t say this book is blatantly religious, but it does serve as a good example of what I imagine a healthy religious practitioner should look like. It’s not a story about characters making conflict-ridden choices, but rather navigating difficult circumstances with all the nuance it entails.
Any reader, especially of romance, might enjoy this story. I know I did. I was lucky enough to be chosen as an advanced listener by netgalley and the publisher. The narrator, Kim Churchill, did a wonderful job.
Details
Title:: Before We Were Us
Author:: Denise Hunter
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 9m
Audiobook Narrator:: Kim Churchill
Audiobook Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Published:: September 10th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 1 (smooches only)
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