Before I Go To Sleep

Before I Go To Sleep
by S J Watson

First published in Great Britain in 2011.

Imagine if every morning when you woke up you had no idea who you were, where you were or how you got there.  This is the reality that Christine faces every day since she had an accident that left her with memory problems.  Most things she learns while awake become forgotten as she sleeps.

Before I Go To Sleep is a brilliant thriller about Christine's day to day life as she tries to come to terms with her accident with the help of her husband Ben, and her doctor.  She keeps a journal to try to jog her memory and has photographs and notes all over the house, and each morning Ben has to calm her down and show her scrapbooks of their life together.  As the story progresses there is an underlying feeling of unease and then a great twist hits that I did not see coming.  It does end on a bit of a cliff hanger, but it fits with the story and allows readers to decide what they think would happen next, which I actually liked in this case.

Christine is a forty-seven year old, but can only remember being in her early twenties.  Although I have not been in Christine's situation, she was written well and I felt a connection to her.  She is desperate, upset, angry and strong throughout the story, which was all very realistic and how I imagined I would feel.
I felt sorry for her husband, Ben, as every day he has to explain about his life with Christine to her and allow her to be scared and confused.  He deals so well with it, though you can tell it affects him too.

The story is easy to read and a definite page turner; I felt myself reading increasingly feverishly at one point when Christine reads her journal.  S J Watson's writing is exciting, detailed and doesn't skimp on the thrill factor.  I was also glad that the story didn't have Christine as a together, strong character who is getting on with her life despite her adversities.  As uplifting as those stories can be, in Christine's situation I know I would be panicking, and therefore felt the emotions were much more realistic.

Reading this book made me really think about and appreciate the importance of memories and how they shape us.  I couldn't imagine not being able to remember whole chunks of my life, especially if this included major events such as getting married, as in Christine's case.  It made me realise how vulnerable you are without your memories, with Christine having to rely on Ben and her doctor to explain her life to her.

This would be a great holiday read, but I can't promise you'll be able to put it down!
As an extra bonus, the Black Swan edition I have has some great 'reading group' questions at the end.