The Memory Library cover art

The Memory Library

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About this listen

‘A gorgeous story full of emotion and a very special library.’ – Evie Woods, bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop

Some stories stay with us forever…

For forty-two years, Sally Harrison has been building a library.

Each year, on her daughter’s birthday, she adds a new book to her shelves – with a note in the front dedicated to her own greatest work.

But Ella – Sally’s only child – fled to Australia twenty-one years ago after a heated exchange, and never looked back. And though Sally still dutifully adds a new paperback to the shelves every time the clock strikes midnight on July 11th, her hopes of her daughter ever thumbing through the pages are starting to dwindle.

Then disaster strikes and Ella is forced to return to the home she once knew.

She is soon to discover that when one chapter ends, another will soon follow.

All you have to do is turn the page…

Journey through the pages of this heartwarming novel, where hope, friendship and second chances are written in the margins. Perfect for book lovers everywhere and fans of Sally Page’s The Keeper of Stories.

©2024 Lisa Timoney (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Comedy Heartfelt Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

'The Memory Library is so joyful. Kate Storey writes from the heart and the gut about mistakes and how we can learn from them. Great characters and a truly heartwarming story – I loved it!' Amazon Kindle bestselling author Laura Pearson

'The Memory Library is a joy and a delight from start to finish. A magical story and a magnificent celebration of the wonderful world of books and libraries – one to treasure and re-read over and over again.' USA Today bestselling author Celia Anderson
Great story with a eclectic bunch of characters. Turns a very negative diagnosis into a positive .

believable characters

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Wonderful narrator and a heartwarming story reminding us to live love and be true to ourselves and those we love, completely

Wholesome and beautiful

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Beautiful story, loved every minute. Relatable, emotional and just a truly wonderful read/listen. Provided space for self reflection which is always something I love in a book.

Loved it!!

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I loved everything about it. A heart warming book that says that we can overcome adversity.Even in the most daunting of situations.Also the narrative was marvelous.

Avid reader Jean

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This was a delightful story and thought provoking to me. An easy listen which I recommend.

Another good listen.

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**4.5 Stars**

(Read & Listened)

This book touched my heart. It’s a story of secrets, crossed wires, and second chances.

Sally, now a widow, has found purpose in life. She’s dedicated to being non-judgmental and helping others where she can. In honour of her daughter Ella’s birthday, she adds a new book to her beautifully decorated library in her house dedicated to Ella. She always writes a dedication in the front of each book for Ella, a tradition she’s been doing for 42 years. The catch? She hasn’t seen her daughter in over 20 years. Why?

Ella has her own reasons for staying away. Not only did she leave after an argument with her mother, but she also flew to Australia with her husband and daughter.

Despite Ella’s absence, Sally diligently continues to add to the library. But when Sally has an accident at home and her friend is due to go on vacation, Ella has no choice but to help her mother.

What secrets will be revealed when Ella sees her mother? Especially as the father she idolises has passed away. I won’t spoil the plot, but let’s just say this trip will be a journey neither of them would have expected. I must admit, I had tears in my eyes as I read it.

Below is a poem that Sally asked Ella to read, and I couldn’t resist sharing it.

“Follower by Seamus Heaney”

My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away

*Heartwarming*

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loved the variety of characters and the life lessons that we can all learn from

life lessons

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A beautiful, heartwarming depiction of familial love, community, the metamorphoses of relationships and the power of books. I absolutely loved it.

Uplifting, touching and a truly lovely read

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I thoroughly loved this book .. a book about a relationship between mother and daughter with lots of other wonderful personalities. i was wanting it to carry on.

the complexities of families

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A lovely, warm, feel-good read. A very realistic look at a mother and daughter bond, with a happy ending!

The characters

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