Essence Of Memory

Jonas staggers and slurs up to a front door he doesn't recognize. His pocket holds a key that fits and unlocks the door. Peeking through the slit of an opening, Jonas is sucked into what he dreads the most – himself. Awaiting him is the gauntlet he's running, and an opportunity for redemption, if he's brave enough to take it.

Jonas walks back two decades into his past. He's playing with Emma on a tire swing suspended from the old oak tree standing guard between their next door neighbor farmhouses in Wisconsin's dairy country. Jonas is eight. Emma is five. Their daydream is to solve the mystery of memory – how a brain stores each moment and recalls each one with perfect authenticity. Hardly child's play, but par for the course of the two smartest people on the planet.

Sam, a precocious Irish setter, enters Emma's life. Sam is unafraid to butt in and offer his two cents worth, which he does – often. Also woven into the fabric of this story is Naomi. She is an intellect in her own right who is in love with Jonas – just like Emma is.

All three humans confront the angels and demons of success, failure, relationships, and addiction. They show us that life is fraught with vagary and that things do work out if we let them. These three souls teach us how to cope, trust, and discover what matters the most – with an Irish setter along for the ride.

by Mark Bolanowski

In stores now!