Thanks for the Memories

Joyce Conway has just lost her baby and blaming herself for the loss, she has wished to give up on her life and join her unborn child at that very moment. However, she wakes up in the hospital with her worried father at her side. Little does she know that the blood transfusion she receives gives her more than her life back. In the process of ending her failed marriage, Joyce decides to start afresh and moves back in with her father. She discovers that she remembers places she has never visited, has vast knowledge on buildings and architecture, speaks languages she has never learnt before, and keeps dreaming of this little girl with blonde hair.
Justin Hitchcock has flown into Dublin for a guest lecture. Lonely and restless, the recently divorced Art Professor has left his home in Chicago to move to London to be closer to his daughter, Bea. Despite his fear for needles, he nonchalantly agreed to donate blood when the beautiful doctor, Sarah whom he met on campus persuaded.
Since Joyce and Justin first cross paths, they find that they are very much drawn to each other and their lives have become a wild goose chase in the pursuit of something unknown, yet they cannot quite put their finger on what it is that makes each one of them so familiar to the other.

I have actually finished reading this book a couple of months back. I bought the book quite long ago and it has been sitting on the shelf for some time until I realized I have never read it before. Ahh, Life!
As unique as most of Cecelia Ahern's writings are, I find this one rather predictable. It is a good read, however, with this piece, I needed to get myself back on track in the story and where it is leading to, everytime that I stopped halfway. I think I like 'Where Rainbows End' alot better. As usual, Ahern never fails to add humour into her stories - in this one, she exhibits it in the character of Joyce's father.

There are a number of quotes from the book which I like.

"Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you."

"When feeling at your weakest, you end up showing more strength; at your lowest, you are suddenly lifted above higher than you've ever been. They all border one another, these opposites, and show how quickly we can be altered. Despair can be altered by one simple smile offered by a stranger; confidence can become fear by the appearance of one uneasy presence...How similar emotions are."

"We all get lost once in a while, sometimes by choice, sometimes due to forces beyond our control. When we learn what it is our soul needs to learn, the path presents itself. Sometimes we see the way out but wander further and deeper despite ourselves; the fear, the anger or the sadness preventing us returning. Sometimes we prefer to be lost and wandering, sometimes it's easier. Sometimes we find our own way out. But regardless, always, we are found."

"It's like my garden, love. Everything grows. Including love. And with that growing everyday, how can you expect missing her to ever fade away? Everything builds, including our ability to cope with it. That's how we keep going."