Before I Forget - by Tory Henwood Hoen (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "A tender, funny portrait of love in its myriad forms." --Mikki Brammer, bestselling author of The Collected Regrets of Clover

A funny, heartfelt, late coming-of-age story that examines the role of memory in holding us back--and in moving us forward--for fans of The Collected Regrets of Clover and Maame.

Call it inertia. Call it a quarter-life crisis. Whatever you call it, Cricket Campbell is stuck. Despite working at a zeitgeisty wellness company, the 26-year-old feels anything but well. Still adrift after a tragedy that upended her world a decade ago, she has entered early adulthood under the weight of a new burden: her father's Alzheimer's diagnosis.

When Cricket's older sister Nina announces it is time to move Arthur from his beloved Adirondack lake house into a memory-care facility, Cricket has a better idea. In returning home to become her father's caretaker, she hopes to repair their strained relationship and shake herself out of her perma-funk. But even deeply familiar places can hold surprises.

As Cricket settles back into the family house at Catwood Pond--a place she once loved, but hasn't visited since she was a teenager--she discovers that her father possesses a rare gift: as he loses his grasp of the past, he is increasingly able to predict the future. Before long, Arthur cements his reputation as an unlikely oracle, but for Cricket, believing in her father's prophecies might also mean facing the most painful parts of her history. As she begins to remember who she once was, she uncovers a vital truth: the path forward often starts by going back.

With laugh-out-loud humor and profound grace, Before I Forget explores the nuances of family, the complexities of memory, and how sometimes, the people we know the best are the ones who surprise us the most.

Review Quotes

"At once a charming exploration of small-town life and a realistically heartbreaking depiction of Alzheimer's disease." --Kirkus (starred review)

"Hoen delivers an uplifting tale filled with wisdom, warmth, and the kind of raw emotion that will have readers laughing through their tears." --Library Journal (starred review)

"This quietly charming narrative asks readers to reconsider who is caring for whom, and to ponder the illimitability of human connection." --The New Yorker

"Hoen offers a lovely, entertaining bildungsroman about family, forgiveness, grief, and memory...Before I Forget is a novel brimming with both pragmatism and heart, clear-eyed about the sadness, joy, regret, and grace that accompany the kinds of hard decisions many of us have faced or will face one day." --Chicago Review of Books

"A thought-provoking story of love, heartbreak and healing, Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen introduces readers to Cricket Campbell: 26, aimless and suddenly the caretaker of a father with Alzheimer's disease. This late-coming-of-age story unfolds with tenderness as she grapples with grief, heals old wounds and finds herself." --Reader's Digest

"One of the season's most interesting setups...a kind of delayed coming-of-age turned quarter-life crisis...Hoen brings heart and humor to a story that asks big questions about memory, inertia, and maybe even causality itself." --Goodreads

"Hoen crafts a moving tale of family, heartache, and the connections that endure." --Booklist

"Hoen's satire of social media and opportunism adds bite to the tender portrayal of a young woman watching a parent fade. This family drama is worth a look." --Publishers Weekly

"I loved this magical book. Tory Henwood Hoen approaches Alzheimer's with generosity, wonder, and tender-hearted storytelling. The result is an uplifting tale full of wisdom, healing, and deeply human, funny characters. When I got to the end, I had tears in my eyes and expansion in my heart." --Rebecca Barry, author of Recipes for a Beautiful Life

"An emotional, tender, yet restorative read. What I liked most was that there wasn't just a focus on the loss of memory but the gaining of something, too. A wonderful and necessary reminder that whilst life's worst cases can take away, the same cases can also give." --Jessica George, New York Times bestselling author of Maame

"Before I Forget is an endearing novel of charm and warmth, the characters so well-drawn that to say goodbye feels like a real loss. It's a homecoming story written with wit, grace, and genuine heart, and I will remember it--and especially the ending, a perfect farewell--for a long, long time." --Adam White, bestselling author of The Midcoast

"A tender, funny portrait of love in its myriad forms, Before I Forget cleverly examines the way memories can shape, challenge, and haunt us--but also inspire us to take charge of our own fates. Tory Henwood Hoen crafts a setting so vivid and sensory that you'll be longing to spend a lazy summer in the Adirondacks." --Mikki Brammer, bestselling author of The Collected Regrets of Clover

Praise for The Arc:

"With giddy hilarity and stabs to the heart, Hoen's heady cocktail of satire and celebration is a delectable addition to the dating-app and matchmaking rom-com list." --Booklist

"Hoen raises some fascinating questions about love and relationships and ends on an optimistic note. The result is as thoughtful as it is thought-provoking." --Publishers Weekly

"A delightful debut about love and dating and modern womanhood that asks as many questions about self-determination and free will as it answers." --Shelf Awareness

"Funny and modern...like a rom-com's cooler big sister." --Real Simple

About the Author