The Weight of Memory

In The Weight of Memory, memory is the common thread running through the storylinesof Chandler, Sarah, and Leigh (characters fromA Secret Word). All three girls are from thesame hometown, witnessed the death of a boythey all loved in high school, have complicatedrelationships with their fathers, and ride outHurricane Katrina together in Destin, Florida.The character of Walker from Point Clear isalso featured as he struggles with psychogenicamnesia, a memory disorder where he oftenloses personal memories. Leigh is searchingfor her father, who is a Cherokee Indian, andlearns of her ancestry and how important itis to preserve the memories of the Cherokeepeople. Sarah is separated from her husband,but hoping for reconciliation, especially afterlearning she is pregnant. She is beset bymemories of a faltering marriage, a troubledrelationship with her father, and her failedacting and singing career in New York. Chandleris betrayed by her husband, divorces him,falls madly in love with Walker, but finds newchallenges in the form of his memory disorder.Memories of Chandler's father, who committedsuicide ten years earlier, are all too clear.