THE MEMORY OF YOU
Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her?
When Natalie Mitchell learns her beloved grandfather has had a heart attack, she’s forced to return to their family-owned winery in Sonoma, something she never intended to do. She’s avoided her grandparents’ sprawling home and all its memories since the summer her sister died—the awful summer Natalie’s nightmares began. But the winery is failing, and Natalie’s father wants her to shut it down. As the majority shareholder,
Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her?
When Natalie Mitchell learns her beloved grandfather has had a heart attack, she’s forced to return to their family-owned winery in Sonoma, something she never intended to do. She’s avoided her grandparents’ sprawling home and all its memories since the summer her sister died—the awful summer Natalie’s nightmares began. But the winery is failing, and Natalie’s father wants her to shut it down. As the majority shareholder, she has the power to do so.
And Natalie never says no to her father.
Tanner Collins, the vintner on Maoilios, is trying to salvage a bad season and put the Mitchell family’s winery back in business. When Natalie Mitchell shows up, Tanner sees his future about to be crushed. Natalie intends to close the gates, unless he can convince her otherwise. But the Natalie he remembers from childhood is long gone, and he’s not so sure he likes the woman she’s become. Still, the haunted look she wears hints at secrets he wants to unearth. He soon discovers that on the night her sister died, the real Natalie died too. And Tanner must do whatever it takes to resurrect her.
But finding freedom from the past means facing it.
- Thomas Nelson
- Paperback
- March 2017
- 320 Pages
- 9780718078768
Buy the Book
$15.99
About Catherine West
Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border collie for long walks on the beach or tending to her roses and orchids. She and her husband have two grown children.
Praise
“A beautiful exploration of the bonds that tie us together as family and the secrets that sometimes unravel those threads. Catherine West builds a world worth entering and characters that linger long after the last page is turned.”—Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Feathered Bone and Into the Free
“In this inspiring, emotionally astute story, West does an exquisite job depicting the complexity and messiness of overcoming trauma.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review
Discussion Questions
1. In The Memory of You we see how Natalie struggles with the secret she has kept for so many years. Keeping secrets can be so damaging. Have you ever held on to a secret for longer than you should have?
2. Natalie’s relationship with her parents has been fractured since the death of her sister. Have you experienced a fractured relationship? How do you cope with that kind of pain, and if the situation was resolved, how did that come about?
3. Tanner and Natalie both have to face incredible loss. Do you think this played a part in their reconnecting? How do you think shared experiences shape our relationships?
4. It’s often easy to blame ourselves when things happen that are out of our control, like Tanner and Natalie do. How do you think they could have handled their guilt differently?