memory we lost essays

Memories We Lost and Other Stories Summary Notes

Memories We Lost and Other Stories is an anthology of short stories compiled by Chris Wanjala. It is an optional English Set Book in Kenya. The book features many literary works done by different Authors from different Countries across the World hence a wider setting.

The most featured work is ‘Memories We Lost’ by a South African Author, Lidudumalingani. The short story was nominated for and won The Caine Prize for African Fiction 2016. It is about challenges brought by mental illness to the victim and those around them. The mental illness is schizophrenia. Other issues it addresses superstition, ignorance, love, a few but to mention.

‘Memories We Lost’ is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister who acts as protector of her sister, whose serious mental health problems cause consternation in a South African village. The illnesses is first described as this thing that takes the narrator’s younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories We lost. The title is a reflection of loss and regret.

The narrator shows sisterly love and cares for the sick sister really well. They always played and worked together in all circumstances. Their mother too demonstrated love and she did whatever she can to have her daughter healed of “the thing”. Like any good mother, she had made many attempts to have the girl cured.. She had used herbs, modern medication, prayers and even consulted local medicine men – witchdoctors. An example is Nkunzi, a local man who employed traditional techniques to rid people of their demons. But the sick sister situation deteriorated as her care is entrusted to Nkunzi.The narrator opposed the practices of Nkunzi and for that sake the two decided to escape from their home village in the middle of the of one night.

The work is inspired by the writers real life experience. ‘Of Memories We Lost ’ he says, ‘I am fascinated by mental illnesses, and having seen my own extended relatives deal with it – a sort of ongoing journey – I was trying to find ways or invent ways that could help me write about how one family is dealing with it.’

Other works are:

1. ‘How Much Land Does Man Need’ By Leo Tolstoy. 2. ‘Light ’ By Lesley Nneka Arimah. 3. ‘My Father’s Head’ By Okwiri Oduor 4. ‘The umbrella Man’ By Sipphar Thagigoo

For a comprehensive discussion on all the stories in the book, click ORDER ONLINE . We charge KES 100/- only for our administrative functions. Thank you for being associated with Schools Net Kenya!

A Doll’s House Summary Notes

KCSE SET BOOKS ESSAY QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Enjoy free KCSE revision materials on imaginative compositions, essay questions and answers and comprehensive analysis (episodic approach) of the set books including Fathers of Nations by Paul B. Vitta, The Samaritan by John Lara, A Silent Song by Godwin Siundu, An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and Parliament of Owls by Adipo Sidang'. This blog is useful to Kenyan students preparing for KCSE; and their teachers.

Tuesday 4 February 2020

[pdf] memories we lost analysis for kcse candidates, memories we lost guide pdf download, lidudumalingani mqombothi .

· Challenges faced by the sick (mentally ill) and their families. · Caring/Showing compassion and love for the sick in our midst.

· Running out to the fields in the middle of the night (P 10) · The head injury (P 11) · The hot porridge (P 12) · The incident in class (P 13) · Games in the rain (P 14) · The ritual (P 14) · Father’s departure (P 15) · Milking the goat (P 15) · The escape (P 17)

The twelve year old narrator gives us insights of living with a patient struggling with schizophrenia-a mental disorder without cure. We should accept challenges and offer compassion and care for the patient

The story is set in South Africa where the villagers wallow in ignorance. They refer to the illness as “the thing”. It appears and disappears like ghosts. The narrator prays to God and ancestors to help her sister.

Schizophrenia impairs the speech and memory of the patient.

One day the patient runs away from home. All the villagers wake up in the middle of the night to help look for her. They organize disoriented search parties that comb the murky village in search for her. After a long unfruitful search, they return feeling defeated. The narrator’s mother does not return until she finds her daughter.

“She would scream at intervals as is to taunt me” (pg 11)

At other times, she would inflict injury on herself. She bangs her head against a wall until she bleeds. The narrator wishes she would inflict injury on herself. The narrator wishes she would stop this thing with horns, spikes and oversized head. She imagines the pain of knowing a monster is coming for you but you can’t run. The patient bangs her head until she cracks the old mud wall and leaves blood on it. A ‘sangoma’ (traditional healer) is called to cleanse the spot.

In November it was worse. It causes the patient to drop out of school and disrupts the narrator’s education. One day at school the patient smashes a window using a desk and breaks a chair against a wall. She also screams bringing learning activities to a standstill. The sight of her sister calms her down.

She is forced to drop out of school. Her sister feigns illness in order to skip school and be with her. She stays at home until her sick sister begs her to go to school.

Since people are ignorant about schizophrenia. The patient is given tons of needless medication, taken to sangomas and churches for impotent healing and prayers.

The patient stays away from school for very long time that her sister who is three years younger than her catches up with her and goes two classes above.

Luckily her sister learns some facts about her condition- schizophrenia; a mental illness that has no cure. Since she cares for her sister, she insists that she deserves to feel something. The first step she takes is dumping the medicine and asking her sister to only pretend to take it.

The medication and other ignorant ‘remedies’ combined with the illness and has resulted to loss of speech. The patient is forced to use gestures and insert a few words while trying to communicate with her sister. She realizes that her sister needs love and compassion.

“I need no words”

Without the needless medication the patient could feel again. They even play in the rain; they began forming new childhood memories, filling the void left by the ones that had been wiped out. They laugh and jump but this worries their guileless mother.

The patient is subjected to many rituals that bear no fruit. Church sermons sangomas promise healing in a matter of time but these miracles have proven elusive. They even offer the ancestors sacrifice in terms of tobacco meat and matches which are only stolen by thieves. They stab a goat for blood and meat the villagers curse “the thing” and refer to it as the devils work and demons. They don’t ,however, care about the sick girl.

The girl’s father also had schizophrenia. He disappeared from home on a horse. His condition was kept a secret. The mystery surrounding this condition has made it difficult to control.

One morning, the narrator eavesdrops and overhears her mother telling her uncle that she (together with Smellyfoot) were making plans to take her sister to a Sangoma called Nkunzi who uses callous means to “cure" demon possessed people like her sister. He would make fire from cow dung and wood and ties a patient section of zinc roofing then would potentially kill the patient. The caring girl couldn’t allow this to happen to her sister.

That evening they run away from home. She tells her they are going to see a sick aunt. They go past a village (maybe philoni) and walk all night until they come to a hospital.

Surely such a patient only needs love, compassion and professional care by a doctor.

Main issues in Memories we Lost

· Problems/trials/obstacles of schizophrenia (mental illness) · Love, hope and care for the patient make life more bearable

Challenges experienced by schizophrenic patients

a) Loss of speech

· The first thing this thing took from us was speech; unfamiliar language, trembling words, relaying unthinkable revelations from the gods (p10) · Screaming words I did not understand, talking our own language, she only nodded and shook her head (p13) · She & I began to communicate again, we invented our own language, she had stopped talking, simply gestured to each other, inserted a few words here and there, connected by laughing, crying, holding hands (p14)

b) Loss of memory, consciousness, reality

· And then it took our memories; the memories faded one after the other until our past was a blur (p10) · she had transformed into someone else, she was not here, when she gained consciousness she was shocked and devastated, she began to recognise herself (p12)

c) Running away from home

· Screaming and running away from home, waking my mother and me, abducting the entire village, men, women and children (p10) · searched for hours, mother searched all night, returned the next day (p11) · The medications and rituals did not work, my mother said, my sister needed to go see Nkuzi, Nkuzi was a sangoma, baked people like my sister, tie demon-possessed person and placed them on a fire (p17) · I could not allow this to happen to my sister, after sunrise we left together, we were going to see a sick aunt (p17) · We had no idea where we were going to sleep, eat live; won’t return home, until mother dies, we were running away from home, the real story would destroy her, she had a mental disorder, walked all night – morning was close, could see modern buildings – hospital

d) Injury

· My sister banged her head against the wall until she bled (p11)

· always hoped that I could stop it (desperation), hitting the back of her head against the wall, tried to grab her, to make her stop, cracked the wall open with her head, left blood on the wall (p12)

· She threw hot porridge on me; abducted her, she flung the pot across the room, my chest was not that fortunate, the pain was unbearable, she was shocked & devastated when she regained consciousness, told her I had poured hot water on myself by mistake, she would never forgive herself (p12)

e) Education is interrupted

· It followed her to school & she had to drop out (p12);

· she was so strong, out of control, flung a desk, smashed a window, broke a chair against a wall, screaming words I did not understand, eyes turned red, entire body was shaking, I could see this thing leave, could see my sister returning, missed so much school over the years, I caught up with her, went two grades above her (p13)

· I went truant from school; every morning I threw up, convinced my mother I was sick, she asked a schoolmate to tell the class teacher I was sick, I want to be in the same class as you; mother, the teachers, the principal will never allow it, yes they will, spent a week doing sketches; she could sketch me, another me, more happy, less torn, existing elsewhere, she begged & begged me to go to school, my week of absence had gone unreported, this bothered neither my class teacher or me (p13)

f) The treatment

· My mother took my sister to more sangomas , more churches, gave her more bottles of medication, became unresponsive, only nodded & shook her head, the teacher told us about schizophrenia, this is what my sister had, medication she had been taking would never help her, it was destroying her (p13) · there was no cure, my sister deserved to feel something, got rid of her arsenal of medication, this is going to be our secret, we dug holes and buried the roots (p13) · Get rid of the medication drink, take an empty sip, throw it out the back window, poured her medication, took an empty sip, it was our game (p14) · she began to recognise herself, we began to communicate again, we invented our own language, she had stopped talking, we began to love each other again, we connected again; staring into the landscape, mountains, horizons, laughing, crying, holding hands (p14) · We jumped in the rain, my sister returned, she jumped, she laughed, we began to form new childhood memories, we lay on the wet ground, felt free (p14) · The medications and rituals did not work, my mother said (p17)

g) The rituals

· Village gathered outside our house, yet another ritual meant to cure my sister, been through many rituals & church sermons, nothing changed, sangomas and pastors promised that she would be healed within days, sangomas healing worked, tobacco, matches, meat left out for ancestors wasn’t there in the morning, they believed ancestors had healed her, this came again, the sacrifices had been stolen by thieves, women chatter and sing, men come in silence, children run around playing, everyone moved in a chaotic choreography (p14) · women gossiping about my sister, emotionless, tears rolled down our cheeks, goat stabbed in the stomach to summon ancestors, we came out of the house, hugged tightly, wiped tears, holding hands, fingers intertwined (p15) · villagers shouted insults at the thing, elders called it the devil's work & demons, none of them knew my sister, non of them cared (pg 15) · The medications and rituals did not work, my mother said (p17)

h) Ignorance

· Led to more suffering · There was never a forewarning that this thing was coming, came out of nowhere as ghosts, mumbled 2 short prayers; to God and ancestors, every time this thing took her she returned altered, unrecognisable, two people were trapped inside her (p10) · with horns, spikes, an oversized head – how I imagined it looked, a monster, a sangoma came and cleansed the spot (p12) · My mother took my sister to more sangomas , more churches, gave her more bottles of medication, became unresponsive, only nodded & shook her head, the teacher told us about schizophrenia, this is what my sister had, medication she had been taking would never help her, it was destroying her, there was no cure (p13) · She had been through all rituals, church sermons, sangomas , pastors, nothing changed (p14) · villagers shouted insults at the 'thing’, it remained unknown to them, elders called it the devil's work & demons, none of them knew my sister, none of them cared (pg 15) · The medications and rituals did not work, my mother said, my sister needed to go see Nkuzi, Nkuzi was a sangoma, baked people like my sister, tie demon-possessed person and placed them on a fire (p17)

i) Father disappeared, family separation

· Mother torn defeated, why God gave this thing to my sister and my father, father disappeared, it was a buried secret, left one day on a horse, never came back, it has been 20 years (p15)

· mother replaced our father and us with Smellyfoot (p17)

j) Nkuzi-sangoma

· “baking” people like my sister, Fire from cow dung and firewood, Tie down demon-possessed person to zinc roofing, placed on fire, no one lived after that, I couldn’t let this happen to my sister, ran away from home

Ignorance results is suffering

The sick girl suffers more because of the people’s lack of knowledge rather than her condition. The incomprehension about schizophrenia makes the patient suffer since the perceived remedies only compound her situation.

“ This thing” · The patient's sister calls the disease “this thing” · It came out of nowhere like ghosts do · Her primitive solution is mumbling two short prayers to God and the ancestors (Pg10) · She hopes she could see the thing, with a view of stopping it · She deems it a monster with horns, spikes and an oversized head (Pg12) · Villagers shout insults at the “thing” – it remains unknown to them · Elders erroneously refer to it as the devil’s work and demons Sangomas and Pastors · The people put too much faith in sangomas and pastors · A sangoma comes to cleanse the blood-stained spot where the patient had bludgeoned her head (Pg12) · The girl is taken to more sangomas and more churches (Pg13) · Sangomas and pastors promise she would be healed within days (Pg14) Medication · Apart from the visits to the sangomas and pastors, the patient is given many bottles of medication · This impuissant remedy makes her unresponsive · Her sister learns that she has schizophrenia – a condition without a cure · The medication would never help her – it is destroying her · Gets rid of the medication (Pg13) · She begins to recognise herself. The girls begin to communicate again (Pg14) · The medication does not work (Pg 17) Rituals · Conduct rituals supposedly to cure the girl · She has been through all rituals and church sermons but nothing had changes · Sangomas and pastors promise she would be healed within days · The elders once triumphantly hail sangoma's healing – the meat, tobacco and matches left out for the ancestors was not there in the morning. We later learn they were stolen by thieves when the thing returns · The rituals involve men, women and children (Pg14) · Women stand gossiping about the girl · The patient’s face becomes emotionless · The girl's mother tells a visiting uncle that the medication and rituals do not work (Pg17) Nkunzi · Mother plans to take the patient to Nkunzi, a sangoma from remote village, famous for “baking” people like the sick girl – claiming to cure them · He tied the demon-possessed person to a zinc roofing and placed it on a fire made from cow dung and wood · Claimed to be baking demons the demons – the patient would recover from the burns after a week · This callous procedure is potentially fatal (Pg17) · “I could not allow this to happen to my sister” · They run away from home

27 comments:

Thanks for the feedback.

Thank you for your great work

Welcome. Thanks for the feedback.

Very elaborate, it shows all the features of a good written work

Thanks for the feedback mwalimu.

I'm always looking forward to your analysis of these stories. They're quite helpful in teaching

Thanks for the feedback

Excellent work brother. Always looking forward to your works on literature

Thanks for the kind words brother.

I really appreciate and love your work Thank you so much God bless you mwalimu

Thanks for the warm message

I just love your works ..be it literature ,oral literature ...its amazing..it's really helping in my revision for KCSE.

Thanks for your feedback.

can you give an update on this question? "people with mental issues need love and support"

I will post a similiar question and answers soon.

Thank you so much Wekati for this guides I have benefited so much

Thanks for your comment

It is very clear...thanks for the good work

Excellent piece

Share your feedback with Wekati now

A Guide to Memories We Lost and other stories

This guide provides a detailed analysis of the anthology of Memories we lost and other stories compiled by Chris Wanjala.The analysis is aimed at preparing KCSE candidates for both the excerpt as well as the compulsory essay questions in the examination.Furthermore, the guide is written in a manner that both the candidates and teachers will immensely benefit from it.

Description

This guide provides a detailed analysis of the anthology of Memories we lost and other stories compiled by Chris Wanjala.

The guide covers the following:

Introduction to short stories

A Brief History of the Author

The setting

The relevance of the title.

Chapter summaries & analysis

Character and characterization

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MEMORIES WE LOST by Lidudumalingani Mqombofhi - Memories we Lost and Other Stories Study Guide

Next Topic » HOW MUCH LAND DOES MAN NEED by Leo Tolstoy - Memories we Lost and Other Stories Study Guide

About the Author

The setting, the narrator, the sick sister, effects of mental illness, mental illness, love and empathy, ignorance and superstition, use of symbolism, use of satire.

The author Lidudumalingani was born in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in a village called Zikhovane.

Lidudumalingani is a writer, filmmaker and a photographer. He grew up herding cattle and moulding goats from clay and later grew fond of words and images.

He writes about music, art, culture and films for the Mail, Guardian and Africa is my country.

He has published in literature journals Chimurenga chronic and pufrock and the second short, sharp story collection Adults only.

He currently lives in Cape Town.

Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister.

The story is about mental illness and its effect.

It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator's younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost. The title is a reflection of loss and regret.

The story is set in South Africa, indeed the author Lidudumalingani is a South African. A number of South African indigenous words are used in the story.

The story Memories we lost is about challenges brought by mental illness to the victim and those around them.

The mental illness is schizophrenia. It is a mental disorder characterized by many symptoms. It causes a breakdown in the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions. There are many causes of the disease and hereditary is one of them. It's no wonder the disease runs in the narrator's family. The narrator's father was a scherophrene.

Events and actions in the story rotate around a sick sister. The sickness is terrifying and attacks without warning.

The narrator tells us that after the attack is over she would mumble a prayer and would embrace the sister for a long time. This suggests to the reader that the illness is horrific and painful. In one of these attacks the sick sister screams and disappears into, the night. All men and boys go out in search of her. The men or boys disoriented and peered shuffled in the dark and split into some groups as instructed by a man " Hours later they return but without the sister. It is the mother who returns the following day carrying the daughter.

In a different episode as the narrator is telling her sister a story, she is seized by an attack and knocks her head on the wall so much one so hard that she bleed profusely. An effort to shield her from doing this fails because of the abnormal strength that the sister has during an attack. The episode is so memorable to the mind of the narrator and says, "The smell of blood lingered after many sunsets had come; even after the rain had come "

The disease makes the sister violent and destructive. This is evident in a case where she flung a desk across a room smashing the glass window. In yet another moment of attack the ill sister pours hot porridge on the sister's chest causing her a lot of pain and harm. It is due to the disease that the narrator's sister drops out of school and cannot continue with her schooling 'This thing, this thing that took over her followed her to school and had to drop out ' This makes the narrator who loves the sister so much to absent himself from school. Eventually suffering the same fate The narrator spends much time with the sister playing eg drawing sketches. It is while narrator is in school that she learns about schizophrenia. She comes to understand that it is what the sister was suffering from. She further learns that there is not medication for the disease and has no cure. The medicine she was taking was of no help. The sisters secretly decide not to take the medicine anymore "The first thing my sister and I got rid of was her arsenal of medication "

Henceforth they buried all the herbs and the narrator demonstrated to the sister how to fake taking medication drinks.

Like any good mother, the mother has made many attempts to have the girl cured. She has used herbs, modern medication, prayers and even consulted.

The younger sister tries as much as possible to bring the sister to be her old self. In one such episode the sisters are playing in the rain. They are happy and the disease appears to have 'left' the sister " We jumped in the rain in that moment, my sister returned; she smiled and laughed. That day we began to form new childhood memories, filling the void left by one that had been wiped out "

The mother sees them in this state and she imagines that the disease was going to come again. She organizes for another ritual to cure the daughter. This time round she organizes for a Nkunzi (witchdoctor) from another village famous for baking people on a fire from cow dung and wood. The narrator is aware that effects of ritual is unknown as dangerous ritual and says "l had not heard anyone who had survived either " She could not allow this to happen to the sister. The both ran away to the unknown place. Just like the father before them the two sisters are escaping from their village and the people. The want to put enough distance between themselves and the home memories and secrets that stamp them as belonging to a family known for mental illness.

But at the end hope is on sight, for after walking the whole night they reached a town and a hospital in sight. They knowingly fifteen each other grip.

Characterization

She is a sister to the mentally ill sister. The narrator and the sister have no names because they symbolize or represent others like them who love and live with mentally ill relatives.

The narrator is loving or affectionate . She loves the mentally ill sister despite her state. This is unlike many families where the mentally ill have no one to take care of them. When the sister 'comes out' of an attack she is always there for her "The embraces I remember, were always tight and long as if she hoped the moment would last forever " There seem to be a very strong bond of love between the two sisters.

The sibling's relation is loving and cordial. They even discuss their physical growth including the emergence of the sister's growth.

The narrator is curious inquisitive when she hears the mother and the uncle discussing the sister's illness in the morning she crouches near them to hear what they are saying. She is quite protective and protects the sister from the wrath of

Nkunzi a sangoma who 'bakes' patients with mental illness. They run away to another village. The narrator emphasizes with the sister. When called by an old aunt from the house, the narrator says, "we hugged tightly, my sister and I wiped each other's tears " She is inseparable from her sister, "the only way to have me turn away from her would be to cut us apart "

The narrator is courageous because she walks throughout the night with the sister alone in the villages as they are fleeing even with the dogs barking. She is religious and prayful. When the sister came out of an attack from mental attack she says "I stretched my arms out in all directions, mumbled two short prayers "

Most of the things we know about her are told by the sister.

She is mentally ill and because of this she is violent . She hauls a desk breaking the window in a class. She also violently harms herself by hitting her head against tree trump until she bleed. She pours hot porridge on her sister.

But she also loves and her relation to the sister is cordial and loving.

She is also secretive and emotional because she cries the whole night of the ritual but does not want the brother to know "...and she sunk her teeth in the pillow so that she would not cry.

She is determined . Her determination to have the daughter healed of the mental illness is admirable. She tries all forms of remedies including prayers, herbs, witchdoctors etc. We also see this determination when the daughter has a seize illness and runs away at night. All the men and boys return with the girl hopeless.

The mother comes far much later the following day after finding the daughter "...only returned home when the sun was up in the sky the next day, carrying my sister on her back.

She is a loving mother and her love is illustrated by the efforts she makes to make her daughter cured. She trys prayers, herbal medicine, modern medicine and witchcraft

She is paranoid fearful . On seeing her two daughters play in the rain she fears the disease might come back again, she calls the entire village for another ritual

There is only a mention of the father. He was a schizophrenia just like the daughter is but nobody mentions it. He left one day never to come back.

He was this mysterious and escapist because he was running away from the village and the people.

The author looks at mental illness and especially the effect on the victim and those living with a mentally ill person.

The mentally ill sister first loses her speech "The first thing that this took from us was speech " Pg 8. The sister is not coherent and speaks in a language that was unfamiliar, her words trembling as if trying to relay unthinkable revelations from the gods.

The disease has affected the thinking or the mental faulty of the sister in such a way that she cannot remember. Thus the disease takes away all her ability to remember "memories faded one after the other until our past was a blur"

Mental illness appears to have horrifying and dehumanizing effect on the victim. The attacks tear her apart so that when she regains herself she is totally different "Every time this nothing took her she returned altered, unrecognizable as if two people were trapped inside her.

The whole community is affected by mental illness. When the sister runs away due to the disease attack everybody is concerned and men.

The ritual to be performed by the Sangoma is attended by all the villagers showing it is a concern for everybody.

When the writer writes about mental illness the description is so vivid, It is as if you are right there with the victim. He describes this illnes, that the nameless protagonist calls this thing. Mental illness is a harrowing mindless and violent disease. It's not only the disease but the cure for the illness "The next day my sister would be taken to Nkunzi to be 'baked'. had heard of how Nkunzi baked people. He would make a fire from cow dung and wood and once the fire burnt red he would tie the demon possessed person into a section of the zinc rooting then place it on fire. He claimed to be baking the demons and that the person would recover from the burns a week later. I had not heard of anyone who died but I had not heard of anyone who lived either "The reader is saddened by the fate of those African countries who suffer fro mental illness, how they are caught in violent superstition.

The story brings out the reality in any African countries where ther are no facilities for the mentally ill. What serves as cure is often times cruel beyond telling of it. The mother does not understand why the same disease that afflicted her husband now afflicts her daughter. She doesn't know the disease is hereditary. People had come to believe that baking people from a fire by cow dung and wood would release them off demons. This leads death of patients rather than cure them "I had not heard of anyneo who had died but I had not heard of anyone who had lived either "

Memories we lost is a troubling piece depicting the great love between two siblings in a beautifully drawn landscape. Memories we lost is more than a story about mental illness. It between siblings who show great love and feeling toward other despite their faults. The narrator organizes for her and her sister to flee not only she cannot allow her sister to be 'baked' but helps her to run from the village to escape the embarrassment as shame of the ritual.

The elders refer to the disease as this thing and say it is the work of the devil and demons. Narrator says, "None of them knew my sister; none of them cared " The villagers are ignorant of the fact that the disease as a medical condition and should be treated as such.

Stylistic devices

The writer uses powerful images with the writings that are inspiring. The mental illness is not called by the name but this thing to show how embarrassed and shameful it is but also to portray ignorance of a community. The team returning from the search is described as 'morphed into defeated men' and 'their bodies slouched as if they had carried a heavy load 'to show the fatigue and frustration after the search from the sick girl. The modern building and a hospital that the narrator and the girl see after a sign of hope that finally the sister might be cured of her disease. After the sister hits her head on a tree continuously and she bleeds, the narrator says the bloodstain remained visible on the wall long after my mother scrubbed it off; long after she had applied three layers of mud and new water paint. The writer shows how horrible the incident was and that it will never be scrubbed in the narrator's memory.

The disease symbolizes a nation that once suffered schizophrenia of apartheid and just like the sister the country is trying to understand it and cure it. The nation is trying to understand and heal a national disorder. After the night's sleep, the sister will wake up once the sun is up and walk again to somewhere. This symbolizes a better South Africa.

Both the community and the religion are satirized for instead looking for a cure the community goes for medication that is very dangerous like calling the Nkunzi to 'bake' a living person. This endanger the girl more than cure her.

Religion is also satirized because even after much prayer it is providing a solution.

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‘Memories We Lost’ Wins 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing

July 16, 2016 MahoganyBooks Book News

South African Lidudumalingani has won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story ‘ Memories We Lost’ .

Lidudumalingani was presented with the £10,000 prize by chair of judges, Delia Jarret-Macauley, at a ceremony at the Bodleian Library in Oxford yesterday (4th July).

‘Memories We Lost’ tells the “emotionally charged” story of a girl who acts as protector of her sister, whose serious mental health problems cause consternation in a South African village. Her situation deteriorates as her care is entrusted to Nkunzi, a local man who employs traditional techniques to rid people of their demons.

Jarrett-Macauley said: “The winning story explores a difficult subject – how traditional beliefs in a rural community are used to tackle schizophrenia. This is a troubling piece, depicting the great love between two young siblings in a beautifully drawn Eastern Cape. Multi-layered, and gracefully narrated, this short story leaves the reader full of sympathy and wonder at the plight of its protagonists”.

Lidudumalingani is a writer, filmmaker and photographer. He was born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, in a village called Zikhovane. Lidudumalingani has published short stories, non-fiction and criticism in various publications.

He was joined on the 2016 shortlist by Lesley Nneka Arimah from Nigeria for ‘What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky’ published in Catapult (Catapult); Tope Folarin from Nigeria for ‘Genesis’ published in Callaloo (Johns Hopkins University Press), Bongani Kona from Zimbabwe for ‘At Your Requiem’ published in Incredible Journey: Stories That Move You (Burnet Media) and Abdul Adan from Somalia/Kenya for ‘The Lifebloom Gift’ published in The Gonjon Pin and Other Stories: The Caine Prize for African Writing 2014 (New Internationalist). Each shortlisted writer will receive £500.

Joining Jarrett-Macauley on the judging panel were actor Adjoa Andoh; writer and founder of Storymoja Festival, Muthoni Garland; associate professor and director of African American Studies at Georgetown Univeristy, Dr Robert J Patterson; and South African writer and 2006 Caine Prize winner, Mary Watson.

‘Memories We Lost’ is available to read here .

Repost from www.thebookseller.com

Caine Prize for African Writing
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SYNOPSIS OF MEMORIES WE LOST AND OTHER STORIES GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction page

Memories we lost. ……………………………………..1

How much land does mannee…………………….8

Light………………………………………………………..13

My Fathers Head.

The Umbrella Man……………………………………..24

The President……………………………………………31

Window Seat

Almost Home……………………………………………… 45

The Folded Leaf……………………………………………55

Hitting Budapest

Missing Out…………………………………………………68

No need to Lie

The Handsomest Drowned Man In the world. Stones Bounce On Water

SAMPLE ANSWERED QUESTIONS……………………………96

Click here to download whole MEMORIES WE LOST AND OTHER STORIES GUIDE

Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister. The story is about mental illness ghigpphrenig and its effect. It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator’s younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost. The title is a reflection of loss and regret.

The setting

The story is set in South Africa, indeed the author Lidudumalingani is a South African. A number of South African indigenous words are used in the story.

The story Memories we lost is about challenges brought by mental illness to the victim and those around them. The mental illness is_schizophrenia. It is a mental disorder Characterized by many symptoms. It causes a breakdown in the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions.

There are many causes Of the disease and hereditary is one of them. It’s No wonder the disease runs in the narrator’s family. The narrator’s father was a scherophrene. Events and actions in the story rotate around a sick sister. The sickness is terrifying and attacks without warning.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Life Experiences — Memories

Essays on Memories

Exploring the depths of memory through essays.

Writing about memories offers a unique opportunity to delve into the personal and the universal, connecting individual experiences with broader themes. Whether reflecting on moments of joy, lessons learned through struggle, or the intricate dance of relationships, memories essays allow writers to explore the fabric of their lives. An important aspect of crafting these essays is not just recounting events but weaving these recollections into narratives that resonate with insight, emotion, and universality.

Choosing the right topic is just the beginning. To truly bring your memories essay to life, consider drawing from a diverse range of experiences and emotions. For those seeking inspiration or examples of how to craft a compelling narrative, we've gathered a collection of memoir examples crafted for college students : these examples can provide valuable insights into structuring your essay, developing your voice, and connecting with your audience.

Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life

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101 Memory Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Memory Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Memory is a fascinating and complex aspect of human cognition. From childhood memories to traumatic events, our memories shape who we are and how we perceive the world around us. If you're looking for inspiration for a memory essay, we've compiled a list of 101 topic ideas and examples to help get you started.

Childhood Memories:

My earliest childhood memory
A day at the beach with my family
Playing with my favorite toy as a child
My first day of school
Learning to ride a bike
Family vacations from my childhood
The first time I lost a tooth
My favorite birthday party as a child
A day spent with my grandparents
The first time I tried a new food

Travel Memories: 11. My first trip abroad 12. A memorable road trip with friends 13. Exploring a new city for the first time 14. Getting lost in a foreign country 15. A cultural experience that changed my perspective 16. Meeting new people while traveling 17. A memorable meal from a trip 18. Overcoming a challenge while traveling 19. A moment of cultural shock while abroad 20. My favorite travel memory

Personal Growth Memories: 21. Overcoming a fear or phobia 22. A moment of self-discovery 23. A mistake that taught me a valuable lesson 24. The importance of failure in my life 25. A time when I had to stand up for myself 26. A moment of personal triumph 27. The impact of a mentor on my life 28. A life-changing experience 29. The role of gratitude in my life 30. Reflecting on my personal growth over the years

Family Memories: 31. A family tradition that is important to me 32. A lesson learned from a family member 33. A family gathering that stands out in my memory 34. My relationship with my siblings 35. The importance of family in my life 36. A family vacation that brought us closer together 37. A memorable holiday celebration with my family 38. My relationship with my parents 39. A difficult family situation that taught me resilience 40. The impact of my family on my values and beliefs

Friendship Memories: 41. A memorable friendship from my childhood 42. A friend who has had a significant impact on my life 43. Overcoming a conflict with a friend 44. A fun day spent with friends 45. The importance of friendship in my life 46. A moment of betrayal in a friendship 47. A time when a friend supported me through a difficult time 48. The qualities I value in a friend 49. A memorable adventure with friends 50. Reflecting on the importance of friendship in my life

Traumatic Memories: 51. A traumatic event that shaped who I am today 52. Overcoming a traumatic experience 53. Dealing with loss and grief 54. A moment of vulnerability and strength 55. The impact of trauma on my mental health 56. Seeking help and support after a traumatic event 57. The process of healing from trauma 58. How trauma has influenced my relationships 59. Finding meaning and growth after a traumatic experience 60. Reflecting on resilience in the face of trauma

Cultural Memories: 61. A cultural tradition that is important to me 62. The impact of my cultural background on my identity 63. A moment of cultural pride 64. Overcoming stereotypes and prejudice 65. The importance of diversity in my life 66. Exploring different cultures and perspectives 67. A cultural celebration that holds significance for me 68. The influence of culture on my values and beliefs 69. Embracing my cultural heritage 70. Reflecting on the richness of diversity in the world

Special Events Memories: 71. A milestone birthday celebration 72. A memorable graduation ceremony 73. A wedding day to remember 74. Celebrating a special anniversary 75. A holiday celebration that stands out in my memory 76. Attending a live concert or performance 77. A memorable sporting event 78. Participating in a charity event or fundraiser 79. A surprise party that left a lasting impression 80. Reflecting on the significance of special events in my life

Nature Memories: 81. A memorable hike or outdoor adventure 82. A day spent at the beach or in the mountains 83. Watching a sunrise or sunset that moved me 84. Connecting with nature and the environment 85. A moment of awe and wonder in nature 86. The healing power of nature 87. Overcoming a fear of the outdoors 88. The importance of conservation and environmental awareness 89. A camping trip that stands out in my memory 90. Reflecting on the beauty and majesty of the natural world

Career Memories: 91. A memorable job interview experience 92. Overcoming challenges in my career 93. A moment of professional growth and development 94. The impact of a mentor or role model on my career 95. Dealing with work-related stress and burnout 96. A significant achievement in my career 97. Balancing work and personal life 98. Reflecting on my career goals and aspirations 99. The importance of finding fulfillment in my work 100. A memorable moment in my professional journey 101. Reflecting on the lessons learned from my career experiences

These memory essay topic ideas and examples are just a starting point for exploring the rich tapestry of memories that shape our lives. Whether you choose to reflect on childhood memories, travel experiences, personal growth, family dynamics, friendship, trauma, cultural influences, special events, nature, or career milestones, there are endless possibilities for exploring the power of memory in shaping who we are and how we navigate the world around us. Happy writing!

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Brain and Memory Essay

Introduction, working and long-term memories, memory formation in the brain, adaptive recall and forgetfulness, accuracy of the memories, memory aids for memory impaired individuals, the effect of age and environment.

Evidence suggests that brain memories are not whole; rather, pieces of information stored in different areas of the brain are combined to create memories (Matlin, 2012). This explains why recalled information is not entirely accurate. Encoding, storage and recall of skills and facts (semantic memory) or experiences (episodic memory) involve different parts of the brain. This implies that there is a close relationship between memory processes and brain functioning.

Over the years, there has been an intense debate on whether working and long-term memories are related. While there are many similarities between the long-term memory (LTM) and working memory (WM), distinct differences also exist between the two. One difference is that the functioning of LTM does not require the activation of WM.

A study by Morgan et al. (2008) revealed that many qualities of LTM such as procedural memory and motor skills do not depend on the working memory. However, episodic memories, which rely on past experiences, may at some point involve the activation of the working memory (Morgan et al. , 2008).

Long-term memory has two distinguishing properties; (1) it has no capacity limits and (2) it lacks temporal decay associated with short-term memory (Morgan et al. , 2008). In contrast, WM encompasses tasks of short-term memory that demand more attention, but are not directly associated with cognitive aptitudes. It is a combination of different memories working together, including some components of the long-term memory, to organize information in the working memory into fewer units in order to reduce the working memory load.

Both WM and LTM are affected by the level of semantic processing or encoding in the brain. LTM is known to be affected by the qualitative depth of initial memory encoding (Matlin, 2012).

For example, it has been established that encoding during semantic processing results in improved long-term memory of episodic items compared to recall of visual or phonological items (Morgan et al. 2008). Similarly, since the performance of WM depends on the level of processing at the encoding stage, semantic processing can lead to improved WM.

Stadthagen-Gonzalez and Davis (2010) propose that memory is formed through dendrite-axonal networks, which become more intense with an increase in the number of events stored in the LTM. Stadthagen-Gonzalez and Davis (2010) also postulate that memory storage involves different cortical areas of the brain, where the sensory experiences are processed.

The neural (brain) cells involved in memory formation undergo physical changes through new interconnections as cognitive and perceptual processes in the brain increase. The synapses (a vast system that connects neurons) are involved in the formation of interconnected memories or neural networks.

It is the neural networks that facilitate the formation of new memories. Karpicke and Roediger (2009) postulate that, through a closely related activity (relayed through similar synapses), a new memory is formed causing changes to the neural circuit to accommodate the new item.

Also, new neurons can be joined to the circuit, if they are correlated with previously formed neural networks (Matlin, 2012). Long-term potential (LTP) is associated with reverberation (depolarization) in the post- and pre-synaptic neurons during learning. It is induced through prolonged stimulation of synapses during learning. New memories are maintained through repetitive excitation of LTP, which increases the release of neurotransmitters that can persist for several days or even months.

Evidence suggests that the amygdala and the hippocampus regions of the brain interact during the formation of verbal and visual memory (Matlin, 2012). However, the amygdala identifies and stores emotionally important information while the hippocampus creates new neural networks for cognitive material.

It is through the amygdala-hippocampus interaction that emotionally important memories are recalled. The same applies for less emotionally significant events, which are less arousing. Thus, personal and emotional experiences are easily recalled than neutral events. It also explains why reinforcements improve memory while damage to hippocampus and amygdala results to impaired memory functioning.

From an evolutionary standpoint, the neural relationship between the hippocampus and the amygdala is an adaptive response to life experiences. Karpicke and Roediger (2009) suggest that stressful conditions affect the processing and storage of new memories. Also, the retrieval strategies of the hippocampus may be repressed under stressful conditions.

Consequently, it becomes adaptive to remember relevant and emotional memories for survival purposes. Also, through amygdala-hippocampus interaction, it becomes adaptive to forget or repress some traumatic or unpleasant memories in order to maintain normal cognitive functioning.

Studies have shown that human recollections are often not accurate. This raises questions regarding the extent of accuracy of the memory. Unsworth and Engle (2011) demonstrate that the hippocampus-amygdala interaction is essential in memory encoding and retrieval, with the amygdala regulating information encoding, storage and recall from the hippocampus.

Thus, for some time, the recall accuracy of emotionally arousing events is high compared to neutral ones. Evidence also suggests that physiological changes in the level of arousal affect the way memories are replayed. For instance, Unsworth and Engle (2011) show that, at the encoding stage, the level of activation of amygdala influence memory retention while its damage impairs memory arousal. This highlights the fact that emotional arousal enhances memory accuracy, at least in the short-term.

Memory impairment or loss may have a number of causes, including neurological diseases, aging, trauma, stroke, or brain injury. Individuals suffering from poor memory, amnesia and PSTD can benefit from memory aids that enhance their memory. Prospective memory (PM) aids can help such people to recall essential actions in their daily lives (Matlin, 2012). They are normally external aids that facilitates semantic memory or systems that allow caregivers to monitor the cognitive functioning of patients with memory problems.

Karpicke and Roediger (2009) group memory support systems into three; assurance systems that monitor a person’s cognitive health at home or care setting; compensation systems, which involve functionalities that accommodate the user’s memory impairments; and assessment systems, which are technologies that continuously monitor the cognitive status of users under rehabilitative care.

Developers of these systems rely on the knowledge regarding the functioning of the brain and memory encoding processes to make memory aids. Also, understanding the type of memory affected can help in the treatment of the individual through psychoanalysis.

Age and environment influence several cognitive and physical abilities in humans. While some types of memories (semantic/conceptual memory) increase with advanced age, others such as episodic memory (specific events) decrease with age (Matlin, 2012). Elderly people often experience difficulties in performing high cognition-demanding tasks because aging impairs memory processes such as working memory, encoding and sensory functioning.

This leads to a decline in memory, reasoning and problem-solving ability. However, automatic processes that do not involve much cognitive resources remain unimpaired during old age. Karpicke and Roediger (2009) suggest that old age does not significantly affect memory processes as attention-demanding tasks may, with time, become automatic.

Environmental conditions also influence the development and maintenance of memory. The environment affects memory through neural mechanisms. Environmental enrichment through memory-based tasks and physical activities increase hippocampus volume by promoting cell (neuron) proliferation (Matlin, 2012). Also, problems associated with social environment such as stress affect memory and brain functioning in humans.

Karpicke, J., & Roediger, H. (2009). The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning. Science, 15 (3), 966-968.

Matlin, M. (2012). Cognition . New York: Wiley

Morgan, C., Hazlett, G., Baranoski, M., Doran, A., Southwick, S., & Loftus, E. (2008).

Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification is significantly associated with performance on a standardized test of face recognition. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30 , 213–223.

Stadthagen-Gonzalez, H., & Davis, J. (2010). The Bristol norms for age of acquisition, imageability and familiarity. Behavior Research Methods, 38 (3), 598–605.

Unsworth, N., & Engle, R. (2011). Simple and complex memory spans and their relation to fluid abilities: Evidence from list-length effects. Journal of Memory and Language , 54(3), 68–80.

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IvyPanda . (2019) 'Brain and Memory'. 17 January.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Brain and Memory." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-and-memory/.

1. IvyPanda . "Brain and Memory." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-and-memory/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Brain and Memory." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-and-memory/.

Memory Loss

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

For most people, it would be hard to imagine a life in which the mind did not routinely discard once-remembered details—from temporarily memorized facts and figures to the characteristics of people and places one hasn’t thought of in years. A normal degree of forgetting is a core element of memory, allowing people to dispense with information for which they no longer have much use.

Of course, forgetting causes problems, too. Minor failures to remember can be inconvenient at any age, and they may become more frequent and troublesome later in life. Scientists have shown that declines in certain types of memory ability are a typical part of aging and do not necessarily reflect the development of a medical condition such as Alzheimer’s disease. Experts have proposed a variety of tactics for staving off memory decline and managing typical levels of memory loss.

Many details and experiences are more relevant to our future than others, and remembering everything would be likely inefficient. Forgetting may actually be helpful for remembering in the sense that less-useful details that are forgotten (such as an old password or outdated set of directions) won’t interfere with the retrieval of useful ones. And forgetting unpleasant or painful memories , when one is able to do so, can make one feel better about past experiences and reduce the burden of negative ones.

Information may be forgotten because one wasn’t paying close enough attention initially or has not reinforced the memory of the information by retrieving it. A more recently acquired memory may interfere with the retrieval of an earlier one, such as when one learns the names of more than one person in succession. Stress, lack of sleep, and certain behaviors, such as excessive alcohol consumption, can also temporarily impair memory (causing a “blackout,” in the case of drinking.)

Yes. While chronic forgetfulness can be a sign of a medical condition, simply forgetting the name of someone you’ve just met or small memory failures related to tasks you probably weren’t paying much attention to (“Did I lock the car?”) are not necessarily cause for concern. They may be still inconvenient—and precautions such as paying deliberate attention in the moment to what you tend to forget and repeating aloud the thing to be remembered could be helpful.

Warning signs of a potential memory problem include problems remembering well-known and often-used information (such as the way to and from a regular destination), difficulty handling important tasks due to memory, or increased forgetfulness that is noticeable to others. In such cases it is worth talking about memory-related concerns with a health-care provider (and it may ultimately be helpful to see a memory expert.)

It’s that experience when someone cannot immediately recall a word or phrase (such as someone’s name) but feels as if they are very close to recalling it (“It’s on the tip of my tongue!”). When in a tip-of-the-tongue state , a person might sense—correctly or not—that they remember certain characteristics of a word, such as its first letter, without being able to bring the information into full awareness. This experience may become more frequent with age. The feeling of the tip-of-the-tongue state may serve to motivate someone to keep searching their memory.

It is well known that some forms of memory ability tend to become less sharp as the decades of one’s life pass by. Just like other parts of the body, the brain changes with age, with accompanying differences in the ability to recall information. But not everyone experiences such declines to the same degree as they get older, and some forms of memory—such as the memory for familiar physical tasks—seem largely unhindered by age.

To an extent, yes. Changes in the ability to remember are normal, even in the absence of dementia or another condition, and memory loss is a common concern among older adults. Declines in certain types of memory (such as working memory and episodic memory ) mean that a person might occasionally forget the word they had intended to say or where they left a frequently used object. Other forms of memory, including semantic memory (knowledge about the world) and procedural memory , seem to be less affected by normal aging.

Memory ability, at least for some kinds of memory (such as working memory ), can begin to gradually decline as early as one’s twenties or thirties, with downward trends extending into later life. Research indicates that episodic memory ability (memory for experiences) tends to decrease after age 60. Yet these are averages; for some individuals, memory is preserved to a greater extent and for longer.

Over time, degradation in the brain regions that support memory contributes to memory difficulties. Among the changes that occur in memory-related areas such as parts of the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex are decreases in grey matter volume and in the quality of white matter, which is essential for communication between neurons. Scientists have also observed relevant differences in physiology (such as in the dopamine system) and in regional activation during memory tasks.

Can memory be protected as people grow older? While a person may not be able to prevent decreases in memory ability entirely, experts have studied various steps one can take to increase one’s odds of maintaining a sharp memory into older age. There are also techniques for working around common memory issues if they arise.

Adopting aspects of a generally health-promoting lifestyle—such as a healthy diet, routine physical activity, and plenty of sleep—may help maintain memory as you age. So might playing cognitively challenging games, such as chess, cards, and crossword puzzles, or exercising your mind in other ways.

Reducing stress and getting enough sleep could be helpful. Other ways to compensate for forgetfulness include organizing objects (such as car keys) so that their locations are always the same, making an extra effort to concentrate when taking in information to be remembered, minimizing distractions, and using simple memory aids such as planners, calendars, written lists, and reminder notes. In some cases, it may be worth considering medications to enhance memory.

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At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

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We Were Liars

E. lockhart, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Sinclairs respond to death and loss by denying them entirely, choosing to block painful memories rather than deal with them directly. In her search for answers about her mysterious accident, Cady explores the question of whether it would be easier to forget the past or to recognize and learn from it. While the Sinclair family adheres to the idea that “silence is a protective coating over pain,” Cady’s experience of recovering her memories demonstrates that the past can never really be forgotten or left behind. Through this transformative process, We Were Liars argues that it is necessary to truly experience the pain of loss in order to move past it.

The Sinclair family clearly represses its emotions following loss to its detriment; those who leave the Sinclair family, either through divorce or death, are almost immediately forgotten or simply purged from the family’s collective memory. When Cady’s father leaves her mother , the two women swiftly get rid of all of his gifts to them, as well as their furniture and decorations, starting over as if he had never existed. Cady does not understand why she isn’t allowed to mourn her parents’ separation—her mother even tells her not to cry—and would rather not shield herself from these authentic feelings. This erasure is much the same with the other Sinclair sisters. Their failed marriages are simply left behind as they spend summers on the island, not mentioning the men who once formed part of the family. This seems to be the coping mechanism built into the Sinclair family, giving them a selective memory of their lives and relationships. Even the death of Tipper , the family matriarch, is mourned only briefly. The Sinclair sisters seem to enter into an unspoken agreement to stop talking about Tipper, and the only person who brings her up in conversation is Gat . Gat is notably something of an outsider to the family and represents a kind of emotional openness that could lead to growth and healing, but that is completely foreign to the Sinclairs.

The deaths of Johnny , Gat, and Mirren become something of a family secret, as the family moves on from the tragedy in the same way they always have. Although they are not completely erased from the family history, the story of their deaths remains shrouded in mystery. After the fire, Harris Sinclair requests that there be no investigation, and does not talk about the incident. He sends Cady to Europe with her father the following summer, and builds a house he calls New Clairmont on the ashes of the old one. As with all of the other losses in his life, Harris ensures that he and his family move on as swiftly as possible. The fire and subsequent deaths become part of the mystery and legend of the Sinclair family, both vague and somewhat glamorous. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances only know that the island caught fire, that a house burned down, and that three teenagers died. And as Cady notes, in death they “became more beautiful still in the eyes of their beholders,” which satisfies Harris Sinclair’s sense of family image. But for Cady, the deaths of Johnny, Mirren, and Gat are not glamorous at all, and as the sole survivor of the fire, she must live with the guilt and memories for the rest of her life. She spends the summer imagining their presence around her as a way of mourning their deaths and keeping herself from forgetting them.

When Cady wakes up in a hospital room one day, having suffered a terrible accident that she does not remember, she is determined to find out what happened. As she recreates a timeline of events, she also learns how memories can be both painful and cathartic, allowing her to finally heal in the end. In the days following her accident, Cady asks her mother what happened to her, and is frustrated when she gets no real answers. She writes down what she does remember, and then asks everyone in her family to help jog the rest of her memory. Cady believes that her family is keeping an important secret from her. Her cousins tell her that Penny has advised them not to talk about it with Cady and to let her memories come back on their own. Time and time again, she must confront her family’s inability to discuss the past and make themselves vulnerable to painful memories and feelings. Eventually, Cady’s memories do return to her, and she slowly begins to realize that the fire that burned down Clairmont also killed the other three Liars, leaving her alone. Her three companions have existed in her mind for the summer, and it is through her interactions with Johnny, Gat, and Mirren that she remembers what happened that night. This process is healing for her, as she is able to cry for the loss of her closest friends and—in her mind, at least—say goodbye to them and leave them behind peacefully.

Like the rest of the Sinclairs, Cady initially represses difficult memories. However, it is only when she begins to recover her memories and face them head-on by reliving the night of the fire, that Cady is able to mourn the loss and move on with her life.

Death, Loss, and Memory ThemeTracker

Death, Loss, and Memory Quotes in We Were Liars

I am nearly eighteen. I own a well-used library card and not much else, though it is true I live in a grand house full of expensive, useless objects. I used to be blond, but now my hair is black. I used to be strong, but now I am weak. I used to be pretty, but now I look sick.

Do you understand, Cady? Silence is a protective coating over pain.

I am not immune to the feeling of being viewed as a mystery, as a Sinclair, as part of a privileged clan of special people, and as part of a magical, important narrative, just because I am part of this clan.

“Beauty is a valid use,” Mummy argues. “It creates a sense of place, a sense of personal history. Pleasure, even, Cadence. Have you ever heard of pleasure?”

You began asking me the day you woke in the hospital. ‘What happened? What happened?’ I told you the truth, Cadence, I always did, and you’d repeat it back to me. But the next day you’d ask again.

“Cadence was the first, and it didn’t matter that she was a girl. I would give her everything. Just like a grandson. I carried her in my arms and danced. She was the future of our family.”

“I have a boyfriend named Drake Loggerhead,” says Mirren. “He’s going to Pomona like I am. We have had sexual intercourse quite a number of times, but always with protection. He brings me yellow roses every week and has nice muscles.”

A witch has been standing there behind me for some time, waiting for a moment of weakness. She holds an ivory statue of a goose. It is intricately carved. I turn and admire it only for a moment before she swings it with shocking force. It connects, crushing a hole in my forehead.

I wish I had her life. A boyfriend, plans, college in California. Mirren is going off into her sunshine future, whereas I am going back to Dickenson Academy to another year of snow and suffocation.

“Someone did something to me that is too awful to remember.”

Look. A fire. There on the southern tip of Beechwood Island. Where the maple tree stands over the wide lawn. The house is alight. The flames shoot high, brightening the sky.

Cadence Sinclair Eastman was present on the island at the time of the fire but did not notice it until it was well underway.

I cry for my aunts, who lost their firstborn children. For Will, who lost his brother. For Liberty, Bonnie, and Taft, who lost their sister. For Granddad, who saw not just his palace burn to the ground, but his grandchildren perish. For the dogs, the poor naughty dogs.

I love you in spite of my grief. Even though you are crazy. I love you in spite of what I suspect you have done.

“I want to be an accepting person, but I am so full of leftover rage. I imagined I’d be saintly and wise, but instead I’ve been jealous of you, mad at the rest of my family.”

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Can Forgetting Help You Remember?

By Jerome Groopman

Four times a year, I attend the Yizkor service at synagogue. Yizkor in Hebrew denotes “remembrance,” and the official name of the service, Hazkarat Neshamot, means a “remembering of souls.” During the service, I call to mind loved ones who have died—parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, close friends—reliving shared times that were cherished, and some that were fraught. I think about what I learned from these people, several of whom were in my life from my first moments of awareness. I recall being taught to swim by my father, hearing my pious Russian grandmother’s tearful account of the Kishinev pogrom, standing by my father’s bedside as a medical student in an underequipped community hospital as he suffered a fatal heart attack. The Yizkor service at my synagogue ends with the Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, and with a call to perform deeds of loving-kindness in memory of the departed.

Many religions and cultures have rituals structured around remembrance, a fact that suggests how central the ability to remember is to our sense of self, both as individuals and as communities. But how accurate are our memories, and in what ways do they truly shape us? And why does some of what we remember come to us easily, even unbidden, while other things remain maddeningly just out of reach, seeming to slip even further away the more we struggle to summon them?

In “ Why We Remember ” (Doubleday), Charan Ranganath, a neuropsychologist at U.C. Davis, writes that the question he always gets when he mentions that he studies memory is “Why am I so forgetful?” The title of his book is a riposte to this, a suggestion that it’s the wrong question to be asking. “The problem isn’t your memory, it’s that we have the wrong expectations for what memory is for in the first place,” he writes. “The mechanisms of memory were not cobbled together to help us remember the name of that guy we met at that thing.”

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It has never been easier to fact-check our memories against an external record and find ourselves lacking, but Ranganath is intent on giving us a new way of understanding memory. He tracks how ideas about the phenomenon have developed in the course of more than a century of scientific inquiry, and lays out the state of current research. In common with many researchers studying cognition and behavior, he takes a broadly evolutionary view. “The various mechanisms that contribute to memory have evolved to meet the challenges of survival.” It’s easy enough to imagine how being able to retain knowledge about food sources or particular dangers could be lifesaving for our ancestors—“which berries were poisonous, which people were most likely to help or betray them,” as Ranganath puts it. But thinking of memory as an adaptive trait has a less obvious and perhaps more interesting corollary: “Viewed through this lens, it is apparent that what we often see as the flaws of memory are also its features.” In the right circumstances, apparently, forgetting has been useful, too.

The earliest scientist in Ranganath’s account is the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who, in the late nineteenth century, attempted to put the study of memory on an objective footing by quantifying its effects. Acting as his own experimental subject, he set about seeing how much data he could remember with a given amount of study. The test he used, chosen for its lack of prior associations, was a welter of meaningless three-letter syllables. Ebbinghaus found that he could memorize sixty-four of these pseudo-words in forty-five minutes before becoming exhausted. However, when he measured his retention, he observed that he had forgotten nearly half the words after twenty minutes. Graphing the rate at which information was lost, he came up with the so-called forgetting curve, a concept that is still influential—for instance, in the design of spaced-repetition learning tools. The forgetting curve starts out steep—a huge amount of information vanishes within sixty minutes—and levels off over several days. As Ranganath notes, “Much of what you are experiencing right now will be lost in less than a day.”

Ebbinghaus’s experiment drew a sharp line between remembering and forgetting, but, a generation later, Frederic Bartlett, a psychologist at the University of Cambridge, showed that the situation is more complicated. Not only do we fail to remember much of what happens to us; even things we remember are often wrong. In a famous experiment, volunteers were told a Native American folk tale called “War of the Ghosts,” selected because it contained cultural details that would be alien to British students. Later, the students recalled the core of the tale but replaced some details with more culturally familiar ones. Instead of words such as “canoe” and “paddle,” they recalled “boat” and “oar”; they replaced “seal hunting” with “fishing.”

From these results, Bartlett concluded that memories are not a simple record of the past but, rather, an “imaginative reconstruction,” in which retrieved information is fleshed out with preëxisting knowledge to compose a story that feels coherent to us. With repeated acts of recall, Ranganath later writes, further alterations creep in, making the memory “like a copy of a copy of a copy, increasingly blurry and susceptible to distortions.” Subsequent research has borne out Bartlett’s insight about the imaginative nature of memory, showing that the neural circuits associated with imagination are active during the act of remembering. Ranganath guides us through the roles of various brain regions, particularly the hippocampus and parts of the prefrontal cortex, and describes some research of his own, which has helped demonstrate the role of the perirhinal cortex in imparting a sense of familiarity. (Notably, this sense can sometimes be triggered even when we are presented with something unfamiliar, leading us to experience déjà vu.)

The picture that emerges is one in which what we call “memory” is less a single thing than a web of interrelated functions. Emotion plays a significant role, particularly in the retrieval of “episodic memories.” The term was used in 1972 by an Estonian-born Canadian psychologist named Endel Tulving, who drew a distinction between two kinds of memory, episodic and semantic. Episodic memory happens when we recall experiences. Semantic memory is the retrieval of discrete facts or knowledge that isn’t reliant on summoning the experiential context in which the information was learned. Tulving wrote that episodic memory amounted to a form of “mental time travel,” as we enter a state of consciousness similar to the one we were in when the memories were stored.

Marcel Proust ’s episodic memory, famously, was triggered by the smell of madeleines. Taste can function in a similar way and, as Ranganath writes, so can music. He also speculates that nostalgia has its roots in episodic memory. According to him, research shows that, on average, people find it easier to recollect positive rather than negative memories, and this bias increases as we age. He even thinks that this “might explain older adults’ penchant for nostalgia.” But I wonder, too, whether nostalgia might have to do with the vicissitudes of the aging process, which may prompt us to recall wistfully the vitality of youth rather than the onset of arthritis in our hips or the formation of cataracts.

How can such an apparently haphazard system confer an advantage on us as a species? The answer starts to come into focus when Ranganath writes about attempts to make certain machine-learning models simulate the way that human brains learn. As information is fed in, the model gradually builds up a body of knowledge about a given area. Ranganath provides a hypothetical example:

“An eagle is a bird. It has feathers, wings, and a beak, and it flies.” “A crow is a bird. It has feathers, wings, and a beak, and it flies.” “A hawk is a bird. It has feathers, wings, and a beak, and it flies.”

Soon, he explains, the system will be able to use the examples it has been taught to deduce that a seagull, say, can fly. But it has problems making sense of information that doesn’t fit the pattern, such as “A penguin is a bird. It has feathers, wings, and a beak, and it swims .” Exceptions to the rule can cause what is known as “catastrophic interference,” in which learning the new piece of information causes the model to forget what it had previously learned. Overcoming this weakness requires training the computer on colossal amounts of data.

People, by contrast, take such contradictions in stride, something that Ranganath attributes to our ability to toggle between semantic and episodic memory. The general rule is stored in semantic memory, whereas episodic memory, not being designed to draw universals from across our experience, organizes events in a more idiosyncratic manner. The result is that our brains are much quicker to adjust to the real world. “They are wonderfully adapted to make use of the past, given the dynamic and unpredictable world in which we have evolved,” Ranganath writes. “The world around us is constantly changing, and it’s critical to update our memories to reflect these changes.”

Once we see memory as a dynamic phenomenon, rather than as a passive record, it becomes possible to understand how forgetting can also serve a purpose. “Forgetting isn’t a failure of memory; it’s a consequence of processes that allow our brains to prioritize information that helps us navigate and make sense of the world,” Ranganath writes. (It’s when we forget the wrong things, of course, that we get frustrated.) In certain circumstances, forgetting can even be part of the memorization process, and Ranganath spends a good deal of time on the power of “error-driven learning.” It seems that pushing our memory to failure can produce exactly the sort of salient experience that will then fix a piece of information in our mind.

Ranganath quotes Bartlett to the effect that “literal recall is extraordinarily unimportant” and makes clear that his book is “not a book about ‘how to remember everything.’ ’’ Nonetheless, an account of how memory works can hardly avoid giving a few tips. He advises us to think of our memories as “like a desk cluttered with crumpled-up scraps of paper. If you’d scribbled your online banking password on one of those scraps of paper, it will take a good deal of effort and luck to find it.” The key is to attach important memories to something distinctive, the equivalent of a “hot-pink Post-It note.” A related strategy is the memory-palace technique, in which one visualizes units of information as being arranged in a space that is already familiar, such as one’s childhood bedroom.

Perhaps the most useful tactic in memorization is “chunking,” a phenomenon identified by the pioneering mid-century cognitive psychologist George A. Miller. Miller noted how hard it was for us to hold more than a few pieces of information in our head simultaneously; he thought that it was impossible to keep more than seven things in mind at once, but subsequent research suggests that the situation is even worse and that the maximum is probably even lower. Fortunately, there’s what Ranganath calls a “huge loophole”: our brains are very flexible about what constitutes a single piece of information. A simple example is the way we remember telephone numbers. Breaking a ten-digit U.S. phone number into two groups of three plus a group of four reduces the number of “items” to be remembered from ten to three. At a larger scale, the most talented soccer or basketball players are able to “read” complicated arrangements of other players as single pieces of information. Likewise, many chess masters can take in the places of pieces on a board at a glance, because they are remembering not individual pieces on individual squares but larger patterns, based on their accumulated knowledge of the game. Tellingly, if the pieces are arranged randomly rather than having arisen out of actual gameplay, a chess master’s advantage in memorizing the position is dramatically reduced.

Toward the end of his book, Ranganath expands his focus from the individual to examine the social aspect of memory. He cites a startling analysis of casual conversation which found that forty per cent of the time we spend talking to one another is taken up with storytelling of some kind. Whether spilling our entire past or just quickly catching up, we are essentially engaged in exchanging memories. It should come as no surprise that communication renders our memories even more fungible. “The very act of sharing our past experiences can significantly change what we remember and the meaning we derive from it,” Ranganath writes, and distortions multiply with each telling.

Another pioneering experiment by Frederic Bartlett examined the distortions that occur in “serial reproduction”—or what we would call a game of telephone. Bartlett showed student volunteers a drawing of an African shield and then had them redraw it from memory. He gave these drawings to another group of volunteers and asked the fresh volunteers to reproduce the new drawings from memory. As he repeated the process with group after group, he found not only that the results looked less and less like an African shield but also that they started to resemble a man’s face. Collectively, the volunteers were changing something unfamiliar into something familiar. More recent work on such serial distortions has shown that, over several iterations, elements of a story that fit common stereotypes get reinforced and elements that don’t fall away.

The psychologist Henry L. Roediger III has adopted the term “social contagion” to describe such memory distortions. He conducted an experiment in which pairs of people were given a set of photos and asked to recall what they remembered from the pictures. However, only one individual in each pair was a true volunteer; the other had been planted with instructions to deliberately “recall” things that were not in the photos. The actual volunteers became “infected” by the misinformation, often themselves remembering items that hadn’t been in the pictures at all. Furthermore, the effect persisted even if they were warned of the possibility that their partner’s recollections might be mistaken.

Our openness to influence and the tendency of serial reproduction to magnify social biases have dispiriting political implications. “Once distortions creep into our shared narratives, they can be incredibly difficult to root out,” Ranganath writes. It’s no wonder that conspiracy theories—about the 2020 election being stolen, about Barack Obama being born in Kenya—prove so resistant to repeated debunking. It also turns out that groups are disproportionately swayed by dominant members who speak confidently. Ranganath offers a crumb of comfort. Research shows that diverse groups remember more accurately than homogenous ones do, and that groups also remember more fully if a wide range of group members contribute to discussion and if contributions from less powerful members are actively encouraged.

The term “collective memory” was established not by a psychologist but by the French philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs, in a book published in 1925. Halbwachs saw shared memories as a key factor in group identity and explored how the same events might be recalled differently by people of different social classes or different religions. (As it happens, he converted from Catholicism to Judaism, and died in Buchenwald; some of his work on memory was published posthumously.) When I call to mind my forebears during the Yizkor service, I am enacting a sense of my place within my immediate family, the wider Jewish community, the medical profession, and American society as a whole. “We come to terms with the past in order to make sense of the present,” Ranganath writes, and memory shapes “everything from our perceptions of reality to the choices and plans we make, to the people we interact with, and even to our identity.”

This is true—in part. But certain past experiences, especially those of early childhood, shape us even though they are not quite remembered and instead reside in what we call the subconscious. Our memories certainly contribute to our identities, but so does their silent counterpart, the huge subliminal substrate of everything that we have forgotten. To attribute all that we are to memory bypasses what is forgotten but not lost. ♦

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Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning

Jonathan Lambert

A close-up of a woman's hand writing in a notebook.

If you're like many digitally savvy Americans, it has likely been a while since you've spent much time writing by hand.

The laborious process of tracing out our thoughts, letter by letter, on the page is becoming a relic of the past in our screen-dominated world, where text messages and thumb-typed grocery lists have replaced handwritten letters and sticky notes. Electronic keyboards offer obvious efficiency benefits that have undoubtedly boosted our productivity — imagine having to write all your emails longhand.

To keep up, many schools are introducing computers as early as preschool, meaning some kids may learn the basics of typing before writing by hand.

But giving up this slower, more tactile way of expressing ourselves may come at a significant cost, according to a growing body of research that's uncovering the surprising cognitive benefits of taking pen to paper, or even stylus to iPad — for both children and adults.

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In kids, studies show that tracing out ABCs, as opposed to typing them, leads to better and longer-lasting recognition and understanding of letters. Writing by hand also improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during a lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.

"There's actually some very important things going on during the embodied experience of writing by hand," says Ramesh Balasubramaniam , a neuroscientist at the University of California, Merced. "It has important cognitive benefits."

While those benefits have long been recognized by some (for instance, many authors, including Jennifer Egan and Neil Gaiman , draft their stories by hand to stoke creativity), scientists have only recently started investigating why writing by hand has these effects.

A slew of recent brain imaging research suggests handwriting's power stems from the relative complexity of the process and how it forces different brain systems to work together to reproduce the shapes of letters in our heads onto the page.

Your brain on handwriting

Both handwriting and typing involve moving our hands and fingers to create words on a page. But handwriting, it turns out, requires a lot more fine-tuned coordination between the motor and visual systems. This seems to more deeply engage the brain in ways that support learning.

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"Handwriting is probably among the most complex motor skills that the brain is capable of," says Marieke Longcamp , a cognitive neuroscientist at Aix-Marseille Université.

Gripping a pen nimbly enough to write is a complicated task, as it requires your brain to continuously monitor the pressure that each finger exerts on the pen. Then, your motor system has to delicately modify that pressure to re-create each letter of the words in your head on the page.

"Your fingers have to each do something different to produce a recognizable letter," says Sophia Vinci-Booher , an educational neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. Adding to the complexity, your visual system must continuously process that letter as it's formed. With each stroke, your brain compares the unfolding script with mental models of the letters and words, making adjustments to fingers in real time to create the letters' shapes, says Vinci-Booher.

That's not true for typing.

To type "tap" your fingers don't have to trace out the form of the letters — they just make three relatively simple and uniform movements. In comparison, it takes a lot more brainpower, as well as cross-talk between brain areas, to write than type.

Recent brain imaging studies bolster this idea. A study published in January found that when students write by hand, brain areas involved in motor and visual information processing " sync up " with areas crucial to memory formation, firing at frequencies associated with learning.

"We don't see that [synchronized activity] in typewriting at all," says Audrey van der Meer , a psychologist and study co-author at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She suggests that writing by hand is a neurobiologically richer process and that this richness may confer some cognitive benefits.

Other experts agree. "There seems to be something fundamental about engaging your body to produce these shapes," says Robert Wiley , a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. "It lets you make associations between your body and what you're seeing and hearing," he says, which might give the mind more footholds for accessing a given concept or idea.

Those extra footholds are especially important for learning in kids, but they may give adults a leg up too. Wiley and others worry that ditching handwriting for typing could have serious consequences for how we all learn and think.

What might be lost as handwriting wanes

The clearest consequence of screens and keyboards replacing pen and paper might be on kids' ability to learn the building blocks of literacy — letters.

"Letter recognition in early childhood is actually one of the best predictors of later reading and math attainment," says Vinci-Booher. Her work suggests the process of learning to write letters by hand is crucial for learning to read them.

"When kids write letters, they're just messy," she says. As kids practice writing "A," each iteration is different, and that variability helps solidify their conceptual understanding of the letter.

Research suggests kids learn to recognize letters better when seeing variable handwritten examples, compared with uniform typed examples.

This helps develop areas of the brain used during reading in older children and adults, Vinci-Booher found.

"This could be one of the ways that early experiences actually translate to long-term life outcomes," she says. "These visually demanding, fine motor actions bake in neural communication patterns that are really important for learning later on."

Ditching handwriting instruction could mean that those skills don't get developed as well, which could impair kids' ability to learn down the road.

"If young children are not receiving any handwriting training, which is very good brain stimulation, then their brains simply won't reach their full potential," says van der Meer. "It's scary to think of the potential consequences."

Many states are trying to avoid these risks by mandating cursive instruction. This year, California started requiring elementary school students to learn cursive , and similar bills are moving through state legislatures in several states, including Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin. (So far, evidence suggests that it's the writing by hand that matters, not whether it's print or cursive.)

Slowing down and processing information

For adults, one of the main benefits of writing by hand is that it simply forces us to slow down.

During a meeting or lecture, it's possible to type what you're hearing verbatim. But often, "you're not actually processing that information — you're just typing in the blind," says van der Meer. "If you take notes by hand, you can't write everything down," she says.

The relative slowness of the medium forces you to process the information, writing key words or phrases and using drawing or arrows to work through ideas, she says. "You make the information your own," she says, which helps it stick in the brain.

Such connections and integration are still possible when typing, but they need to be made more intentionally. And sometimes, efficiency wins out. "When you're writing a long essay, it's obviously much more practical to use a keyboard," says van der Meer.

Still, given our long history of using our hands to mark meaning in the world, some scientists worry about the more diffuse consequences of offloading our thinking to computers.

"We're foisting a lot of our knowledge, extending our cognition, to other devices, so it's only natural that we've started using these other agents to do our writing for us," says Balasubramaniam.

It's possible that this might free up our minds to do other kinds of hard thinking, he says. Or we might be sacrificing a fundamental process that's crucial for the kinds of immersive cognitive experiences that enable us to learn and think at our full potential.

Balasubramaniam stresses, however, that we don't have to ditch digital tools to harness the power of handwriting. So far, research suggests that scribbling with a stylus on a screen activates the same brain pathways as etching ink on paper. It's the movement that counts, he says, not its final form.

Jonathan Lambert is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who covers science, health and policy.

handwriting

How Actors Remember Their Lines

After a recent theater performance, I remained in the audience as the actors assembled on stage to discuss the current play and the upcoming production that they were rehearsing. Because each actor had many lines to remember, my curiosity led me to ask a question they frequently hear: “How do you learn all of those lines?”

Actors face the demanding task of learning their lines with great precision, but they rarely do so by rote repetition. They did not, they said, sit down with a script and recite their lines until they knew them by heart. Repeating items over and over, called maintenance rehearsal , is not the most effective strategy for remembering. Instead, actors engage in elaborative rehearsal , focusing their attention on the meaning of the material and associating it with information they already know. Actors study the script, trying to understand their character and seeing how their lines relate to that character. In describing these elaborative processes, the actors assembled that evening offered sound advice for effective remembering.

Similarly, when psychologists Helga and Tony Noice surveyed actors on how they learn their lines , they found that actors search for meaning in the script, rather than memorizing lines. The actors imagine the character in each scene, adopt the character’s perspective, relate new material to the character’s background, and try to match the character’s mood. Script lines are carefully analyzed to understand the character’s motivation. This deep understanding of a script is achieved by actors asking goal-directed questions, such as “Am I angry with her when I say this?” Later, during a performance, this deep understanding provides the context for the lines to be recalled naturally, rather than recited from a memorized text. In his book “ Acting in Film ,” actor Michael Caine described this process well:

You must be able to stand there not thinking of that line. You take it off the other actor’s face. Otherwise, for your next line, you’re not listening and not free to respond naturally, to act spontaneously.

This same process of learning and remembering lines by deep understanding enabled a septuagenarian actor to recite all 10,565 lines of Milton’s epic poem, “Paradise Lost.” At the age of 58, John Basinger began studying this poem as a form of mental activity to accompany his physical activity at the gym, each time adding more lines to what he had already learned. Eight years later, he had committed the entire poem to memory, reciting it over three days. When I tested him at age 74 , giving him randomly drawn couplets from the poem and asking him to recite the next ten lines, his recall was nearly flawless. Yet, he did not accomplish this feat through mindless repetition. In the course of studying the poem, he came to a deep understanding of Milton. Said Basinger:

During the incessant repetition of Milton’s words, I really began to listen to them, and every now and then as the poem began to take shape in my mind, an insight would come, an understanding, a delicious possibility.

In describing how they remember their lines, actors are telling us an important truth about memory — deep understanding promotes long-lasting memories.

A Memory Strategy for Everyone

Deep understanding involves focusing your attention on the underlying meaning of an item or event, and each of us can use this strategy to enhance everyday retention. In picking up an apple at the grocers, for example, you can look at its color and size, you can say its name, and you can think of its nutritional value and use in a favorite recipe. Focusing on these visual, acoustic, and conceptual aspects of the apple correspond to shallow, moderate, and deep levels of processing, and the depth of processing that is devoted to an item or event affects its memorability. Memory is typically enhanced when we engage in deep processing that provides meaning for an item or event, rather than shallow processing. Given a list of common nouns to read, people recall more words on a surprise memory test if they previously attended to the meaning of each word than if they focused on each word’s font or sound.

Deep, elaborative processing enhances understanding by relating something you are trying to learn to things you already known. Retention is enhanced because elaboration produces more meaningful associations than does shallow processing — links that can serve as potential cues for later remembering. For example, your ease of recalling the name of a specific dwarf in Walt Disney’s animated film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” depends on the cue and its associated meaning:

Try to recall the name of the dwarf that begins with the letter B.

People often have a hard time coming up with the correct name with this cue because many common names begin with the letter B and all of them are wrong. Try it again with a more meaningful cue:

Recall the name of the dwarf whose name is synonymous with shyness.

If you know the Disney film, this time the answer is easy. Meaningful associations help us remember, and elaborative processing produces more semantic associations than does shallow processing. This is why the meaningful cue produces the name Bashful .

John Seamon is Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Professor of Neuroscience and Behavior at Wesleyan University. He is the author of “ Memory and Movies: What Films Can Teach Us About Memory ,” from which this article is excerpted.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pictured from the shoulders up, wearing a suit and looking off to the side.

R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain

The presidential candidate has faced previously undisclosed health issues, including a parasite that he said ate part of his brain.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has emphasized his vitality and relative youth compared with the leading Democratic and Republican candidates. Credit... Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

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By Susanne Craig

May 8, 2024

In 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was experiencing memory loss and mental fogginess so severe that a friend grew concerned he might have a brain tumor. Mr. Kennedy said he consulted several of the country’s top neurologists, many of whom had either treated or spoken to his uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, before his death the previous year of brain cancer.

Several doctors noticed a dark spot on the younger Mr. Kennedy’s brain scans and concluded that he had a tumor, he said in a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times. Mr. Kennedy was immediately scheduled for a procedure at Duke University Medical Center by the same surgeon who had operated on his uncle , he said.

While packing for the trip, he said, he received a call from a doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital who had a different opinion: Mr. Kennedy, he believed, had a dead parasite in his head.

The doctor believed that the abnormality seen on his scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Mr. Kennedy said in the deposition.

Now an independent presidential candidate, the 70-year-old Mr. Kennedy has portrayed his athleticism and relative youth as an advantage over the two oldest people to ever seek the White House: President Biden, 81, and former President Donald J. Trump, 77. Mr. Kennedy has secured a place on the ballots in Utah, Michigan, Hawaii and, his campaign says, California and Delaware. His intensive efforts to gain access in more states could put him in a position to tip the election.

He has gone to lengths to appear hale, skiing with a professional snowboarder and with an Olympic gold medalist who called him a “ripper” as they raced down the mountain. A camera crew was at his side while he lifted weights, shirtless, at an outdoor gym in Venice Beach.

Still, over the years, he has faced serious health issues, some previously undisclosed, including the apparent parasite.

For decades, Mr. Kennedy suffered from atrial fibrillation, a common heartbeat abnormality that increases the risk of stroke or heart failure. He has been hospitalized at least four times for episodes, although in an interview with The Times this winter, he said he had not had an incident in more than a decade and believed the condition had disappeared.

About the same time he learned of the parasite, he said, he was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning, most likely from ingesting too much fish containing the dangerous heavy metal, which can cause serious neurological issues.

“I have cognitive problems, clearly,” he said in the 2012 deposition. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.”

In the interview with The Times, he said he had recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no aftereffects from the parasite, which he said had not required treatment. Asked last week if any of Mr. Kennedy’s health issues could compromise his fitness for the presidency, Stefanie Spear, a spokeswoman for the Kennedy campaign, told The Times, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”

The campaign declined to provide his medical records to The Times. Neither President Biden nor Mr. Trump has released medical records in this election cycle. However, the White House put out a six-page health summary for President Biden in February. Mr. Trump released a three-paragraph statement from his doctor in November.

On Wednesday afternoon, hours after this article was published, Mr. Kennedy posted a comment on his X profile. “I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate,” the post read. “I feel confident in the result even with a six-worm handicap.”

Doctors who have treated parasitic infections and mercury poisoning said both conditions can sometimes permanently damage brain function, but patients also can have temporary symptoms and mount a full recovery.

Some of Mr. Kennedy’s health issues were revealed in the 2012 deposition, which he gave during divorce proceedings from his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. At the time, Mr. Kennedy was arguing that his earning power had been diminished by his cognitive struggles.

Mr. Kennedy provided more details, including about the apparent parasite, in the phone interview with The Times, conducted when he was on the cusp of getting on his first state ballot. His campaign declined to answer follow-up questions.

In the days after the 2010 call from NewYork-Presbyterian, Mr. Kennedy said in the interview, he underwent a battery of tests. Scans over many weeks showed no change in the spot on his brain, he said.

Doctors ultimately concluded that the cyst they saw on scans contained the remains of a parasite. Mr. Kennedy said that he did not know the type of parasite or where he might have contracted it, though he suspected it might have been during a trip through South Asia.

Several infectious disease experts and neurosurgeons said in separate interviews with The Times that, based on what Mr. Kennedy described, they believed it was likely a pork tapeworm larva. The doctors have not treated Mr. Kennedy and were speaking generally.

Dr. Clinton White, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, said microscopic tapeworm eggs are sticky and easily transferred from one person to another. Once hatched, the larvae can travel in the bloodstream, he said, “and end up in all kinds of tissues.”

Though it is impossible to know, he added that it is unlikely that a parasite would eat a part of the brain, as Mr. Kennedy described. Rather, Dr. White said, it survives on nutrients from the body. Unlike tapeworm larvae in the intestines, those in the brain remain relatively small, about a third of an inch.

Some tapeworm larvae can live in a human brain for years without causing problems. Others can wreak havoc, often when they start to die, which causes inflammation. The most common symptoms are seizures, headaches and dizziness.

There are roughly 2,000 hospitalizations for the condition, known as neurocysticercosis, each year in the United States, according to the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases .

Scott Gardner, curator of the Manter Laboratory for Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that once any worm is in a brain, cells calcify around it. “And you’re going to basically have almost like a tumor that’s there forever. It’s not going to go anywhere.”

Dr. Gardner said it was possible a worm would cause memory loss. However, severe memory loss is more often associated with another health scare Mr. Kennedy said he had at the time: mercury poisoning.

Mr. Kennedy said he was then subsisting on a diet heavy on predatory fish, notably tuna and perch, both known to have elevated mercury levels. In the interview with The Times, he said that he had experienced “severe brain fog” and had trouble retrieving words. Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has railed against the dangers of mercury contamination in fish from coal-fired power plants , had his blood tested.

He said the tests showed his mercury levels were 10 times what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.

At the time, Mr. Kennedy also was a few years into his crusade against thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines. He is a longtime vaccine skeptic who has falsely linked childhood inoculations to a rise in autism, as well as to other medical conditions .

In the interview, Mr. Kennedy said he was certain his diet had caused the poisoning. “ I loved tuna fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” he said.

The Times described Mr. Kennedy’s symptoms to Elsie Sunderland, an environmental chemist at Harvard who has not spoken to Mr. Kennedy and responded generally about the condition.

She said the mercury levels that Mr. Kennedy described were high, but not surprising for someone consuming that quantity and type of seafood.

Mr. Kennedy said he made changes after these two health scares, including getting more sleep, traveling less and reducing his fish intake.

He also underwent chelation therapy, a treatment that binds to metals in the body so they can be expelled. It is generally given to people contaminated by metals, such as lead and zinc, in industrial accidents. Dr. Sunderland said that when mercury poisoning is clearly diet-related, she would simply recommend that the person stop eating fish. But another doctor who spoke to The Times said she would advise chelation therapy for the levels Mr. Kennedy said he had.

Mr. Kennedy’s heart issue began in college, he said, when it started beating out of sync.

In 2001 he was admitted to a hospital in Seattle while in town to give a speech, according to news reports. He was treated, and released the next day. He was hospitalized at least three additional times between September 2011 and early 2012, including once in Los Angeles, he said in the deposition. On that visit, he said, doctors used a defibrillator to shock his heart to reset the rhythm.

He said in the deposition that stress, caffeine and a lack of sleep triggered the condition. “It feels like there’s a bag of worms in my chest. I can feel immediately when it goes out,” he said.

He also said in the deposition and the interview that he had contracted hepatitis C through intravenous drug use in his youth. He said he had been treated and had no lingering effects from the infection.

Mr. Kennedy has spoken publicly about one other major health condition — spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that causes his vocal cords to squeeze too close together and explains his hoarse, sometimes strained voice.

He first noticed it when he was 42 years old, he said in the deposition. Mr. Kennedy for years made a significant amount of money giving speeches , and that business fell off as the condition worsened, he said.

He told an interviewer last year that he had recently undergone a procedure available in Japan to implant titanium between his vocal cords to keep them from involuntarily constricting.

Susanne Craig is an investigative reporter. She has written about the finances of Donald J. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and has been a journalist for more than 30 years. More about Susanne Craig

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race: News and Analysis

In her first public appearance since she dropped her Republican bid, Nikki Haley said she would vote for Donald Trump , stopping short of an official endorsement.

Over roughly 24 hours, Trump reposted a video with an echo of Nazi Germany , hinted at restricting contraception and made news in two of his criminal cases, providing what looked like at least a temporary cure to “Trump amnesia.”

Kerry Kennedy, the sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has become the face of her family’s effort to block his independent candidacy and re-elect President Biden.

A.I.’s Role: The era of A.I. has officially arrived on the campaign trail. But so far, the political uses of the much-anticipated, and feared, technology are more theoretical than transformational .

Silicon Valley’s Shift: Frustration with Biden, Democrats and the state of the world has increasingly driven some of tech’s most prominent venture capitalists to the right.

TikTok’s Trumpification: Trump isn’t on TikTok, but the liberal-friendly platform has seen an uptick of right-wing, pro-Trump influencers .

Changes to the Fed?: A second Trump administration could shake up personnel and financial regulation at the Federal Reserve. Here’s how .

Echoes of Tragedy: Tracing the Path of the Holocaust through History’s Pages

This essay about the Holocaust explores the tragic events that unfolded between 1941 and 1945 under Nazi Germany’s regime. It delves into the rise of Adolf Hitler and the implementation of anti-Semitic policies, leading to the systematic genocide of millions of Jews across Europe. Through examining key milestones such as the enactment of discriminatory laws and the initiation of the “Final Solution,” it highlights the profound suffering and enduring resilience witnessed during this dark period of history. The essay emphasizes the importance of remembering the Holocaust as a solemn reminder of the dangers of prejudice and intolerance, urging readers to strive for a world built upon principles of justice, equality, and human dignity.

How it works

The chronicles of the Holocaust, a dark scar on humanity’s collective memory, unravel a tale of profound suffering and unfathomable loss. This tragic saga, etched into the annals of the 20th century, bears witness to the depths of human cruelty and the enduring resilience of the human spirit. Embark with me on a journey through time as we navigate the intricate tapestry of events that marked this harrowing period.

Our odyssey commences in the tumultuous years of the early 1930s, amidst the rise of Adolf Hitler and the ascension of Nazi Germany.

It was during this time of political upheaval that the seeds of anti-Semitism took root, sowing discord and division within the fabric of society. With Hitler’s ascent to power in 1933, the ominous clouds of prejudice darkened the horizon, casting a shadow over the lives of millions.

As Hitler consolidated his grip on power, the ominous specter of persecution loomed large over Europe’s Jewish population. The enactment of discriminatory legislation, such as the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, served as a harbinger of the horrors yet to come. These laws, crafted with malicious intent, stripped Jews of their fundamental rights and relegated them to second-class citizenship, laying the groundwork for their systematic marginalization.

The year 1941 marked a grim turning point in the annals of history, as the Nazi regime unleashed its diabolical scheme to eradicate European Jewry. The implementation of the “Final Solution” heralded a reign of terror unparalleled in human history, as millions of innocent lives were extinguished in the fires of hatred and intolerance. The machinery of genocide whirred into motion, with death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau becoming the grim staging grounds for mass murder on an industrial scale.

The harrowing echoes of the Holocaust reverberate through the corridors of time, serving as a somber reminder of humanity’s capacity for both unspeakable evil and extraordinary resilience. The liberation of the camps in 1945 by Allied forces laid bare the full extent of the atrocities committed, bearing witness to the depths of human depravity and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the world recoiled in horror at the magnitude of the atrocities that had been perpetrated. The Nuremberg Trials, held in the wake of World War II, sought to hold the perpetrators of genocide to account for their crimes against humanity. Yet, even as justice was meted out to the architects of genocide, the scars of the Holocaust remained etched into the collective consciousness of mankind, serving as a solemn admonition against the dangers of prejudice and intolerance.

Today, as we reflect upon the legacy of the Holocaust, we are reminded of the imperative to bear witness to the past and to honor the memory of those who perished. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that the lessons of history are not forgotten, lest we risk repeating the mistakes of the past. By preserving the memory of the Holocaust, we reaffirm our commitment to building a world founded upon the principles of justice, equality, and human dignity.

In conclusion, the Holocaust stands as a stark testament to the darkest recesses of human nature, yet it also serves as a testament to the indomitable resilience of the human spirit. As we navigate the intricate tapestry of history, let us never forget the lessons of the past and strive to build a future free from the shadows of hatred and intolerance.

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Echoes of Tragedy: Tracing the Path of the Holocaust Through History's Pages . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/echoes-of-tragedy-tracing-the-path-of-the-holocaust-through-historys-pages/ [Accessed: 23 May. 2024]

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75 condolence messages to offer your love and support

These kind gestures will remind loved ones they're not alone in their grief.

There's no greater sadness than losing a friend or loved one.

In the difficult days following a loss, it's often the support of friends and loved ones that help lesson the pain, bringing comfort and peace during a time of deep sorrow.

“It’s very lonely when you lose someone because your feelings and experience are unique,” Dr. Robin Grant-Hall, clinical psychologist, tells TODAY.com. “People who care need to let the person know that you are there for them.”

However, it's not always easy to know what condolence message to write in a card or to text to someone who is going through a hard time.

According to Grant-Hall, when expressing your sympathy, it's important to recognize the loss , as well as offer someone the much-needed reassurance that in the weeks and months ahead, you'll be there to support them.

To help put your feelings into words, we've gathered a list of condolence messages and sympathy quotes to assist you in composing a text or card.

Though your kind gesture may not ease their sorrow, it will remind them that they are not alone , that you're thinking of them and sharing in the burden of their loss. And nothing means more than that.

Condolence messages to offer support

From across the miles, we send our heartfelt sympathy and healing prayers during this difficult time.
A love that deep never fades in memory, it only grows stronger in your heart. Wishing you peace and comfort during this sad time.
May happy memories help lesson your sorrow during these difficult days. Thinking of you.
Keeping you close in our hearts. Our deepest sympathy.
Please know that I am just a call or text away. Reach out anytime for any reason. I'm here for you now and always.
As you navigate the difficult days ahead, please know that you aren't alone. We are here to help.
Sometimes there are no words for a loss so great. Praying for healing in the days to come. Thinking of you.

A light that dims here on earth, shines that much brighter in the night sky.
A memory on the breeze, a whisper through the trees that says, “They will never be forgotten.”
May love and comfort wrap you in their warm embrace during this difficult time.
In these moments, when there are no words, know that the ones we love remain beside us, now and always.
During this difficult time, may faith, family and friends bring you peace.
The light will be on in my heart for whenever it gets too dark.

Sending you strength today and peace in all the days ahead.
Those we love never truly leave us, but rather remain a song that will forever be carried in the wind.
May every sunrise remind you of the lingering beauty of yesterday's sunset.
Those who live in our memories are never truly gone.

Short condolence messages

“It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” — John Steinbeck
“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.” — Mark Twain
“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Only in darkness can you see the stars.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” — Markus Zusak, “I Am the Messenger”
“The wind is us — it gathers and remembers all our voices, then sends them talking and telling through the leaves and the fields.” — Truman Capote
“The stars show us the path but the flowers travel with us.” — Bhuwan Thapaliya

Short condolence messages for the loss of any loved one

The candle may go out, but the memory of its light remains.
We’ve shared so much through the years and I’m here now to share the weight of your loss. Whatever you need, I’m standing by.
Our/my heartfelt condolences for your loss.
Our/my thoughts are with you during this sad time.
Words of sympathy feel inadequate in expressing grief and sorrow for a loss so great. Sending a warm embrace and all my love during this sad time.
Wishing you peace and comfort during these difficult days.

I’m here to lend an ear or shoulder should you need one.
Even when we can’t see them, the stars still shine. Deepest sympathy.
I’m so sad for your loss. Thinking of you.
Sharing in your sorrow and here for you in the days ahead.
Thinking of you and sending my love during this difficult time.
My heart goes out to you and your family. My deepest condolences.

Sending thoughts of comfort and all my love.
If you were here, I’d give you a hug. I’m so sorry for your loss.
With love and remembrance, we share in your sorrow.
There are no words for such a sad time. My condolences.
Caring thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Condolence messages for the loss of a friend or coworker

Those we love never truly leave us. Sending our love and sympathy to you.
Sending you strength and support during this difficult time.
I wanted to reach out and let you know that I’m here for anything you need. I’m so sorry for your loss.
In this sorrowful time, sending thoughts of comfort and hope that you find strength to get through the difficult days ahead. We’re here for you.
I share in your grief and send you all my love in this time of sadness.

Our deepest sympathy to you and your family. Hoping that the support of loved ones brings you comfort during this sad time.
A hug from me to you to let you know that today and every day, you are in my heart and thoughts. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Gone, but never far from our hearts. Deepest sympathy for your loss.
You need only look in your heart to find what is lost. Sending our condolences to you and your family.
If there wasn’t so much love, it wouldn’t be this hard to say goodbye. Our thoughts are with you.

Condolence messages for the loss of a parent

Your mom was the brightest light in a sky full of stars. Sending love and support during this hard time.
There’s nothing to say to ease the loss of a mother. We are here for you and send our deepest sympathy to you and your family.
In loving memory of your mom. Thinking of you and hoping you find peace and strength in the days ahead.
Mothers never truly leave us. You need only look in your heart and she’ll be there. So sad for your loss.
Wishing you comfort and remembering the kind spirit that was your mom. Our condolences for your loss.

May you find peace and comfort in your father’s memory.
Though I didn’t know your father, I know you, and that means he must have amazing. I’m so sad for your loss.
There isn’t anyone I know who didn’t look up to your dad. He was one of the kindest, most genuine people I ever met. My thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
May you always feel his hand on your shoulder and hear his laugh echo in your heart. Our heartfelt condolences for the loss of your father.
It’s hard to say goodbye and even harder when it’s to someone like your dad. He was one-of-a-kind and will be missed by everyone.

Condolence messages for the loss of partner

In loving memory of your husband, a person whose kindness and generous spirit touched the lives of everyone who knew him. He will be so missed.
When something like this happens, it leaves everyone figuring out how to pick up the pieces. There are no words, only love and support during this sorrowful time. I am here for you.
Our deepest condolences on the loss of your beloved husband. He leaves behind an eternal flame in our hearts. Our thoughts are with you.
Even when we cannot see the sun, it is still there, shining down from the sky and spreading its warmth so that we may one day bask in it again.
There are no words for the loss of your wife, a person who was cherished by everyone who knew her. Our thoughts and love are with you in this time of sorrow.
She shined so bright that the memory of her light will never dim. Sending strength and comfort.
Everyone who knew her considered themselves lucky, myself included. I’m here to offer an ear or shoulder should you need one.
In loving memory of your wife: She was loved deeply by everyone who knew her. Hoping the support of friends and family bring you comfort at this difficult time.

Condolence messages for the loss of a family member

Although I never met your sister, I feel like I knew her through you. I’m so sad for your loss and wish you strength in the days ahead.
Your sister was sincerely one of my favorite people and I know she was yours, too. Hoping the love of friends and family see you through this sad time.
In heartfelt memory of your loved one, someone who brought a smile to every occasion. Thinking of you.
Brothers are special. Yours was exceptional. Wishing you peace and comfort at this sad time.
Thinking of your cousin and how much you loved him/her. There’s nothing to say for a loss so great. Our condolences at this sad time.

We are saddened to learn of your loss. Please know that we’re thinking of you and are here for anything you may need.
Remembering your grandmother/grandfather with love at this sad time. Sending condolences to you and your family.
My condolences on the loss of your uncle. I know how special he was to you and hope you find peace during this sad time.
Your (loved one) was completely outrageous — in all the best ways possible. It’s hard to imagine a world without them in it. They leave behind so many wonderful memories, which I hope brings you comfort during these difficult days.
With a loss so great, there are simply no words to ease the pain. If there were, I would use them now. Please know that I’m here.

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PDF A Definitive Guide to The Memories We Lost and Anthology of Short
Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister. The story is about mental illnessghigpphrenig and its effect. It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator's younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost.
Memories we Lost Essays & Answers PDF
MEMORIES WE LOST KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "The President" Mariatu Kamara. Write a composition on the effects of war, using illustrations from 'The President' by Mariatu Kamara. War is a devastating experience. When a country experiences war, the effects are disastrous. In the absence of peace both adults and children suffer.
Memories We Lost and Other Stories
2. Describe the devastating effects that conflicts have on the innocent children and women in Mariatu Kamara's "The President" in "Memories we Lost and other stories". Conflitcs in society arise as a result of hatred and tribal animosity. This hatred and animosity among citizens leads to unrest and violence. Such violence and ...
Memories We Lost and Other Stories Summary Notes
Schools Net Kenya August 31, 2018. Memories We Lost and Other Stories is an anthology of short stories compiled by Chris Wanjala. It is an optional English Set Book in Kenya. The book features many literary works done by different Authors from different Countries across the World hence a wider setting. The most featured work is 'Memories We ...
Memories we Lost and Other Stories Study Guide Notes (15)
MEMORIES WE LOST by Lidudumalingani Mqombofhi. This is the first short story in the book, "Memories We Lost and Other Stories." It is a bibliography written by Lidudumalingani that tells the harrowing story of mental illness and its effects. It is narrated from the perspective of a younger sister who tells the tale of her older sister, whose ...
KCSE SET BOOKS ESSAY QUESTIONS and ANSWERS : [PDF] MEMORIES WE LOST
Enjoy free KCSE revision materials on imaginative compositions, essay questions and answers and comprehensive analysis (episodic approach) of the set books including Fathers of Nations by Paul B. Vitta, The Samaritan by John Lara, A Silent Song by Godwin Siundu, An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and Parliament of Owls by Adipo ...
A Guide to Memories We Lost and other stories
Ksh64. This guide provides a detailed analysis of the anthology of Memories we lost and other stories compiled by Chris Wanjala.The analysis is aimed at preparing KCSE candidates for both the excerpt as well as the compulsory essay questions in the examination.Furthermore, the guide is written in a manner that both the candidates and teachers ...
MEMORIES WE LOST by Lidudumalingani Mqombofhi
Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister. The story is about mental illness and its effect. It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator's younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost. The title is a reflection of loss and ...
Memories We Lost. AND OTHER STORIES.
A beautiful collection of stories from different backgrounds,,with meaningful life lessons and awareness. The first story Memories we lost brings out schizophrenia awareness, How much land does a man need potrays that greed and gluttony for material possession is at the end not worthy.My father's head,Light, The umbrella man.The president by mariatu kamara emotionally takes us through the ...
'Memories We Lost' Wins 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing
South African Lidudumalingani has won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story ' Memories We Lost'. Lidudumalingani was presented with the £10,000 prize by chair of judges, Delia Jarret-Macauley, at a ceremony at the Bodleian Library in Oxford yesterday (4th July). 'Memories We Lost' tells the "emotionally charged ...
Synopsis of Memories We Lost and Other Stories Guide
The Title. Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister. The story is about mental illness ghigpphrenig and its effect. It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator's younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost.
Memories We Lost by Lidudumalingani
Lidudumalingani. 4.10. 52 ratings11 reviews. In Lidudumalingani's twelve-page tale of mental illness in the isolated village life of South Africa, siblings are violently afflicted by one's schizophrenia. In the wake of having yet another violent episode, the two decide to escape from their home village in the middle of the night. 12 pages, Audio.
How memories form and how we lose them
Think back to a really vivid memory. Got it? Now try to remember what you had for lunch three weeks ago. That second memory probably isn't as strong— but why not? Why do we remember some things, and not others? And why do memories eventually fade? Catharine Young gives the basics on memory and memory loss. [Directed by Patrick Smith, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen].
201 Memory Research Topics & Essay Examples
The connection between memory and the quality of sleep is also exciting to explore. If you're looking for memory topics to research & write about, you're in the right place. In this article, you'll find 174 memory essay topics, ideas, questions, and sample papers related to the concept of memory.
Memories Essay: Most Exciting Examples and Topics Ideas
Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life. Essay grade: Poor. 3 pages / 1435 words. Throughout life, I have many memorable events. The unforgettable moments of my life vary from the worst moment of my life and some are the best because they become milestones to remember forever.
101 Memory Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
If you're looking for inspiration for a memory essay, we've compiled a list of 101 topic ideas and examples to help get you started. Childhood Memories: Travel Memories: 11. My first trip abroad 12. A memorable road trip with friends 13. Exploring a new city for the first time 14.
Brain and Memory
We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Essay on Brain and Memory. 808 writers online . Learn More . Working and Long-term Memories. ... Memory impairment or loss may have a number of causes, including neurological diseases, aging, trauma, stroke, or brain injury. Individuals suffering from poor memory, amnesia and PSTD can benefit ...
Memory Loss
Memory ability, at least for some kinds of memory (such as working memory ), can begin to gradually decline as early as one's twenties or thirties, with downward trends extending into later life ...
Death, Loss, and Memory Theme in We Were Liars
Below you will find the important quotes in We Were Liars related to the theme of Death, Loss, and Memory. Part 1: Welcome Quotes. I am nearly eighteen. I own a well-used library card and not much else, though it is true I live in a grand house full of expensive, useless objects. I used to be blond, but now my hair is black.
"Moments Forgotten: A Tale of Short-Term Memory Loss"
It was the holy month of Ramadan, So I was fasting too. That morning, I went to a center for an exam. I was fresh and relaxed that time until I started to attempt my paper. I looked at the paper and got relaxed that I am going to do it easily and there was nothing tough for me. I started my first question, and then, my mind went blank at once.
Memory Loss Essay
Decent Essays. 1002 Words. 5 Pages. Open Document. Memory decline is a natural part of aging. While considered normal, excessive and rapid loss of memory may be an indicator of some bigger issue. As we age, our core functions begin to decline. However, if we continue to remain physically active, engage socially, and eat a healthy diet, there is ...
Memory Loss Essays: Examples, Topics, & Outlines
PAGES 3 WORDS 872. Memory has been separated into three categories on the basis of the "amount of time the memory lasts." (Zhang, 2004, p.1) The three categories are stated to include the following: (1) sensory memory; (2) short-term memory; and (3) long-term memory. (Zhang, 2004, p.1) The focus of this brief study is to describe each of these ...
PDF Essay Plans
AO3 1. Research that has been used to support this explanation has been criticised for being artificial- they involved scenarios nothing like real life memory situations. As a result, the findings cannot be applied to real life. 2. However, a real life study was completed by Baddeley and Hitch (1977).
Can Forgetting Help You Remember?
To attribute all that we are to memory bypasses what is forgotten but not lost. ♦ Published in the print edition of the May 20, 2024 , issue, with the headline "Forget It."
As schools reconsider cursive, research homes in on handwriting's ...
Writing by hand also improves memory and recall ... for typing could have serious consequences for how we all learn and think. What might be lost as handwriting wanes ... writing a long essay, it ...
How Actors Remember Their Lines
Similarly, when psychologists Helga and Tony Noice surveyed actors on how they learn their lines, they found that actors search for meaning in the script, rather than memorizing lines.The actors imagine the character in each scene, adopt the character's perspective, relate new material to the character's background, and try to match the character's mood.
R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain
Several doctors noticed a dark spot on the younger Mr. Kennedy's brain scans and concluded that he had a tumor, he said in a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times. Mr. Kennedy was ...
Echoes of Tragedy: Tracing the Path of the Holocaust Through History's
Essay Example: The chronicles of the Holocaust, a dark scar on humanity's collective memory, unravel a tale of profound suffering and unfathomable loss. This tragic saga, etched into the annals of the 20th century, bears witness to the depths of human cruelty and the enduring resilience of the ... By preserving the memory of the Holocaust, we ...
75 Meaningful Condolence Messages for Loss of Friends and Family
Even when we can't see them, the stars still shine. Deepest sympathy. I'm so sad for your loss. Thinking of you. Sharing in your sorrow and here for you in the days ahead. Thinking of you and ...
Tinnitus and memory loss: Link, research, and more
Various studies have found links between even low levels of hearing loss and memory impairment. According to 2020 research , people with hearing loss may also be more likely to develop dementia .

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