If I Forget, You Remember - Hardcover

Williams, Carol Lynch

3.85

68 ratings by Goodreads

9780385325349: If I Forget, You Remember

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385325347 ISBN 13: 9780385325349

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1998

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Sixth grade is over and Elyse Donaldson is ready for a perfect summer. She's going to read her favorite books and write her first novel. She's even determined to get along with her older sister, Jordyn. But her plans quickly unravel.
Granny's Alzheimer's is getting worse. So she moves in with Elyse, Jordyn, and their mom, and the girls watch over her while their mother is at work. Sometimes she's fine, but sometimes she slides into the past and doesn't even recognize Elyse. It's frightening to realize that her beloved grandmother is slowly slipping away. Then Elyse gets involved in a neighborhood newspaper, and her mom starts dating for the first time since her father died. Elyse doesn't think she can stand any more changes, any more loss, but she's a lot stronger than she knows. This is the summer she'll learn to stand up for herself and to help the grandmother who has always helped her.

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About the Author:

Carol Lynch Williams, a two-time winner of the Utah Original Writing Competition, is the author of several books for children, including two novels about the Orton family of New Smyrna, Florida: Kelly and Me and Adeline Street. A starred School Library Journal review of The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson praises Williams as she "again demonstrates her facility at mood and character development... Truer colors are hard to come by."
Her most recent novel, If I Forget, You Remember, is a moving intergenerational story that stresses the bonds that hold families together through difficult times--a help since over 19 million Americans have a family member with Alzheimer's disease.

An Excerpt from If I Forget, You Remember

        "Look," Jordan said, holding the plate out in front of her. "I made dinner
        for you, Granny."

        Granny rocked hard in the chair. She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.
        She seemed so strange to me, almost like a little kid.

        Jordyn leaned forward and with the fork moved around bits of lettuce and
        tomato.

        "Elyse made the salad, Granny, see?"

        "Poison." Granny said the word with such force that Jordyn jerked backward.
        I saw beans jump on the white Corella plate. "Don't you think I know what
        is going on? It's a plot against me."

        "What?" Jordyn asked.

        I felt my body tense up like I was getting ready for a race.

        Granny pointed from me to Jordyn, her gnarled hands making jabbing pokes
        at the air.

        "I know what's going on. You can't fool me. I wasn't born yesterday, you
        know."

        Jordyn nodded but her mouth had dropped open now and couldn't seem to
        stay shut, even though it opened and closed a few times.

        "You're trying to kill me. I've seen it on 20/20. People murdering
        their elderly family members."

        Jordyn nodded again. "I will not be duped," Granny said, and with her
        slippered foot she tried to kick Jordyn in the leg. Jordyn hopped back
        and then turned and walked to where I was. We both retreated to the table,
        even though we had finished our food long ago.

        "Poison." Granny said again. "I will not be duped."

        I looked wide-eyed at my sister. Her blue eyes were huge. I began to giggle.
        "Don't laugh, Elyse," Jordyn said, but she grinned too. After a second
        we were both laughing.

        "Poison."  Granny's voice floated around the corner.

        Jordyn and I wheezed anew. When was the last time I had laughed with my
        sister? It felt so good, like something was breaking open inside of me,
        pure and clean.

        Mom came into the kitchen. "The doctor said depression is normal for Alzheimer's
        patients." She sat down at the table with us and I covered my mouth with
        my hand. I laughed through my nose, snorting.

        "Poison," Granny crowed from the front room.

        It felt like my guts were being laughed loose. Jordyn slapped at the table,
        making the forks jump.

        "What?" Mom asked. But neither of us could tell her.


        "So you're in on it, too, Sarah," Granny said from the doorway. She turned
        in a huff and left the room.

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