Dr. Carolyn Lee reflects on a different cliché each week. Recently, in her blog, “If Truth Be Told,“ she discusses absolute honesty and its consequences. This week Carolyn explores the cliché, a trip down memory lane. 

Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Lee on her biography page or investigate 29 more clichés in her latest book, Keep Your Eye on the Ball And other Clichès to Live by. 

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I am reminded frequently that, as I walk down memory lane, I must watch out for detours, barricades, and potholes. The trip isn’t as straightforward as it once was, and, unless I pay close attention, I could end up at the wrong destination altogether.    

I recently read Colleen McCullough’s The Touch, a sprawling saga about a family living on the Australian frontier. About halfway through, I thought, “This is sounding faintly familiar.” Yes, as I approached the end, I was certain I had read this novel before. But I couldn’t remember how it ended, so why not just plough through to the conclusion? When I finished the book, I was just curious about when I might have read it previously. I keep a list of books I’ve read on my computer: the titles, the authors, and short reviews. So, I went to that list and searched for The Touch. Sure enough, there it was. And here’s what I wrote about it: “After about 200 pages into this, something sounded familiar.  A little while later, an incident happened that I was certain I had read about before.  Yes, there’s little doubt that I already read this one—but I enjoyed it all over again.”  I laughed when I realized that I had just read a book for the third time. I told friends this story, and they laughed, too. But I was forced to confront the fact that I either have serious memory issues or I just don’t pay enough attention to what I read. Perhaps it’s a matter of concentration and focus. 

I am reminded of these difficulties about halfway through the reading of any novel when I realize that I don’t quite know what’s going on. I have to say here that part of the blame lies with the author. I mean, what ever happened to linear storytelling? You know, the kind of story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end—in that order. I rarely read a novel these days in which the events of the story are told in chronological sequence. When I open a novel to its first page, and the title of the chapter is “Helen: 1947,” I think “Uh-oh.” It is no surprise then that the title of the second chapter is “Elizabeth: 1939.” On to Chapter 3: “Julia: 1995.” Within about thirty pages I have been introduced to three characters, their husbands, lovers, their peculiar housekeepers and potential killers who operate in three different time periods, on three different continents.  

How, exactly, am I supposed to keep track of all these people and times and places? When I get to about Chapter 6 and run into a character I haven’t heard of for 150 pages, I think “Wait a minute. Who is this guy? Is he the second cousin of Helen or Elizabeth?” Or I read about an event and wonder, “Did this happen before or after Roger committed suicide?” Did this occur before World War II started or after it was over?” 

Although the authors are partly at fault, I’m always willing to say, “Maybe it’s me.” Maybe I’m just not reading carefully enough, not fully concentrating on the material. Maybe I have allowed my mind to wander or, possibly, I have lost consciousness altogether. I often read while in bed. Occasionally, I realize I am falling semi-asleep halfway through the chapter, but often I don’t. It isn’t until I open the book again the next night that I review the page where I have left a bookmark and see nothing that even rings a bell. “Who are these people?,” I wonder. “Emily has been killed? Jason is in prison?”  

I frequently rewatch a movie that I have seen years before and have absolutely no recollection of anything in it. Back in the late ‘70s, I saw Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in Julia. I was disappointed. I had looked forward to the opening of that film, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. Several years later, it was part of a film festival I was attending, so I had a chance to see it again. Brilliant! I was knocked out, blown away! Was this the same movie I had seen previously? Was I the same person? Had I just been in a fog when I saw it the first time?    

I would seriously wonder about my inability to remember films or the difficulty I have in recalling what I’ve read, but apparently these are common afflictions. I will continue to see movies and read books, but I will make some effort to pay more attention, to maintain my focus, and to stay awake. And I will put Colleen McCullough’s The Touch in my next garage sale.  

There is an upside to the memory malady. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” When my friends and I are engaging in conversation, we frequently begin a story with “I’ve probably already told you this.” And the response is usually, “Oh, that doesn’t matter. I won’t remember it, anyway.”  

Want to Read More? 

Check out Dr. Carolyn Lee’s blogs on her website, she features a new cliché each week or you can order her new book, Keep Your Eye on the Ball And Other Clichès to Live By. Want to know more about the woman behind the words? Read more about Carolyn here. We hope you enjoyed this article learning more about the cliché, A Trip Down Memory Lane.