The Memory of Light was a random purchase I made at my school's book fair ages ago. I was intrigued by the description on the back cover, which previewed a story about a teen that attempts suicide. It reminded me a bit of It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, another story about a teen struggling with depression which I read a few years ago and enjoyed immensely. Hoping that this would be another winner, I decided to give it a shot this month.
The plot of the novel concerns Vicky Cruz, a sixteen year old girl who wakes up in the hospital after a suicide attempt at the start of the story. Vicky had been dealing with feelings of depression since the death of her mother a few years prior, and the struggle finally became too much for her to handle. After she is stabilized, she meets her psychiatrist, Dr. Desai, who recommends that she stay in the hospital for a few weeks to let her mind recover and participate in therapy. Realizing that she is still having suicidal thoughts and needs help, Vicky agrees.
As she begins to participate in her therapy, Vicky meets a handful of other teens who are also staying at the hospital to treat mental illnesses. There is Mona, a quirky and bold young woman struggling with bipolar disorder, E.M., an angry young man that has trouble controlling his aggression, and Gabriel, a young man who doesn't like to talk much about what his issues are, but who espouses great wisdom and kindness in their group sessions. As the days go by and the group gets to know each other, Vicky starts to heal and begins to come out of her depressive haze. She is far from cured, but she begins to see hope for her future.
Unfortunately, an unexpected event sends Vicky home early, where all the problems that contributed to her mental illness are waiting for her. The memory of her late mother, a father whose overbearing demeanor does more harm than good, and a demanding private high school full of kids that know about the suicide attempt await her. It doesn't take long for her suicidal thoughts to return, and Vicky must use what she learned at the hospital to cope with her depressed feelings and advocate for her own mental health.
I really liked this novel, and what struck me the most while I was reading was how real everything seemed. The way Vicky described her feelings of depression felt absolutely authentic to me and made me root for her character to overcome her illness. She spoke about her thoughts of guilt, pain, and suicide with an unflinching frankness that rang very true and made the story come to life. This is a young adult novel, but nothing was softened for a teenage audience, and the result of this is that I got a very clear view of how clinical depression invades a person's mind and twists their thoughts and actions. It helped me to understand this illness more. I think it would do the same for anyone that reads it.
The plot itself is only okay. I thought that some pieces of it, including her father's incredibly tone-deaf actions, the trip the whole group takes to Dr. Desai's ranch, and Vicky's heroic actions at the end of the novel, were unrealistic. However, I was invested enough in Vicky as a character to overlook the unlikely situations and enjoy the story anyway. This is one of those rare novels where character development is enough to carry you through the rough patches.
It came as no surprise to me that at the end of the novel, the author included a note about their own struggles with depression, including their own suicide attempt. it was very obvious throughout reading that Francisco Stork must have been very familiar with depression and the damaging thoughts it unleashes in a person's mind. He wrote that his hope was that Vicky's story might help another teenager out there struggling with suicidal thoughts, and he includes several resources for people to turn to to get help. After reading this, I feel that Stork must have saved more than one life with his words. His approach to this difficult topic resonated deeply with me, and I'm sure others have felt the same way.
Ultimately, I did end up enjoying The Memory of Light a great deal, but in a completely different way than I enjoyed It's Kind of a Funny Story. The latter deals with depression using dark humor and more absurd-style storytelling. The former deals with it in a way that feels very realistic and serious. Both are worthy of a read. I am going to put The Memory of Light onto my donate pile, and my hope is that it makes its way into the hands of someone who can learn from it, whether it becomes a push to someone to reach out for help, or a tool to help someone relate to a family member struggling with mental illness.
Challenge Tally:
Total Books Read in 2018: 31
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