Memory and Forgetting

Both Jamie and his mother wrestle with their memories of the past in a way that almost minimizes present time. Although the scenes in the hospital are told in present tense, Jamie frames the story of his mother's stay in the hospital as if it were being told as a memory. Near the story's beginning, Jamie refers to the day he found out about his mother's brain tumor as being in the past when he remarks, "By the time this happens, it is too late for me," and when he closes the story he ends with, "This is my entire life, everything that I remember." Woven through the memory of his mother and her brain tumor are other memories of Jamie's life, including the time when his father left the family, Jamie's failures in school and at work, and what happened during the summer of 1977.

Memories...