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Missing 85 Days: Based On The Diary Of An Amnesiac
1924. John Olson left his home in Kootenai, Idaho for a sales trip to Spokane, expecting to return in two days. Instead he disappeared; his personal effects found strewn along the south bank of the Spokane River.
Meanwhile a hobo dressed in a business suit is rousted from a freight train. He has no idea where he is and, incredibly, has no idea who he is. He assumes an alias and works odd jobs while he searches for himself. Lonely, and with no one to turn to, he writes about his trials and his turmoil in a diary.
Back in Kootenai, Helen Olson raises the family, agonizing about what happened to John. Scandalous rumors and a deathly ill child add to her travails.
Based on newspaper articles, family lore, and the diary of an amnesiac, 85 Days is a captivating tale of doubt, despair, self-discovery and triumph.
Meanwhile a hobo dressed in a business suit is rousted from a freight train. He has no idea where he is and, incredibly, has no idea who he is. He assumes an alias and works odd jobs while he searches for himself. Lonely, and with no one to turn to, he writes about his trials and his turmoil in a diary.
Back in Kootenai, Helen Olson raises the family, agonizing about what happened to John. Scandalous rumors and a deathly ill child add to her travails.
Based on newspaper articles, family lore, and the diary of an amnesiac, 85 Days is a captivating tale of doubt, despair, self-discovery and triumph.
544 pages, Paperback
Published January 24, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2023
Missing 85 Days teaches us about life, love, loss, adventure and the power of prayer. I loved it!
Kootenai, Idaho, 1924: John Olson, a fire extinguisher salesman, leaves home on what should be a two-day business trip to Spokane, Washington. It's a trip that will take 85 days to return from because something happens to John that causes him to not even know who he is, and he loses all memory of what his life was before his trip. His wife, his family, all erased from his mind.
He finds himself on a freight train dressed in a business suit with no idea what he will do next. To fit in he assumes an alias and begins working odd jobs but is reluctant to ask anyone for help, fearing that they wouldn't believe his story and that they might put him in an asylum or lock him away in jail, if he turned out to be a wanted man. With no one to turn to he writes about his personal turmoil in a diary.
Back home, John's wife Helen struggles with the loss of her beloved husband and attempts to hold her young family together, despite ugly rumors that are surfacing in regard to what really happened to John and why he left. On top of everything else that Helen has to deal with, her seven-year-old son falls ill to diphtheria.
Missing 85 Days is based on a true story. After many years of research, prompted by what was written in a diary, Randy Haglund, the grandson of John Olson, decides to compile the information into a book. He has crafted a tale that intrigued and captivated me from the start. My own personal preference, I wish that the identity of this man with no memory wouldn't have been revealed as quickly as it was but the how and why remained interesting to me and kept me turning the pages. There were other hooks in the story, along the way, that also made this a great read.
I would encourage the author to continue with his writing. I appreciate the time and research he did in putting together this very important and personal tale about his grandfather. Missing 85 Days teaches us about life, love, loss, adventure and the power of prayer. I loved it!
Kootenai, Idaho, 1924: John Olson, a fire extinguisher salesman, leaves home on what should be a two-day business trip to Spokane, Washington. It's a trip that will take 85 days to return from because something happens to John that causes him to not even know who he is, and he loses all memory of what his life was before his trip. His wife, his family, all erased from his mind.
He finds himself on a freight train dressed in a business suit with no idea what he will do next. To fit in he assumes an alias and begins working odd jobs but is reluctant to ask anyone for help, fearing that they wouldn't believe his story and that they might put him in an asylum or lock him away in jail, if he turned out to be a wanted man. With no one to turn to he writes about his personal turmoil in a diary.
Back home, John's wife Helen struggles with the loss of her beloved husband and attempts to hold her young family together, despite ugly rumors that are surfacing in regard to what really happened to John and why he left. On top of everything else that Helen has to deal with, her seven-year-old son falls ill to diphtheria.
Missing 85 Days is based on a true story. After many years of research, prompted by what was written in a diary, Randy Haglund, the grandson of John Olson, decides to compile the information into a book. He has crafted a tale that intrigued and captivated me from the start. My own personal preference, I wish that the identity of this man with no memory wouldn't have been revealed as quickly as it was but the how and why remained interesting to me and kept me turning the pages. There were other hooks in the story, along the way, that also made this a great read.
I would encourage the author to continue with his writing. I appreciate the time and research he did in putting together this very important and personal tale about his grandfather. Missing 85 Days teaches us about life, love, loss, adventure and the power of prayer. I loved it!
April 19, 2023
Randy Haglund has taken a family tale and used the bones of it to frame a novel about a man who finds himself with no idea of his past and as a result, has to make his way through a stranger's life - his own.
The book begins at the time when John Olson is challenged by someone at a station and realises that he doesn't know who he is. We then explore the life of which he has no awareness and see the day-to-day anguish of his wife, Helen and their children as well as his parents, all of whom are wondering where he is and how they are going to survive without him.
It must be a terrible thing to lose your memory as along with it goes your identity and without context, it is incredibly difficult to understand your place within the world you inhabit. Haglund goes some way to show the stress that this places on Olson as he tries to find work so that he has some shelter and food at least, if not comfort. But even this is difficult if you have no idea of skills you have learned or capabilities you may have. One of the things that I liked is the way that Olson copes; he is sure that there are people that he has left behind but he realises that he has to keep going, living in a sort of stasis until his mind decides to recover. But there is always the chance that it won't and this too is something that Olson tries to come to terms with.
Haglund is a competent writer and the book flows from start to finish as we follow Olson's life under aliases he has to choose and jobs that he has to obtain in different places. The depiction of the family and their vulnerability now that the breadwinner has disappeared shows a resilience in the face of what could become destitution but just like Olson, there is a keenness to endure, despite the odds. I especially liked Helen's gutsiness as well as Charles, her eldest boy's, maturity in the face of adversity.
This is not a deeply thoughtful book but I think Haglund was right to embroider the facts as this novel has in its pages an enjoyable and reasonably suspenseful mystery which deserves to be shared.
The book begins at the time when John Olson is challenged by someone at a station and realises that he doesn't know who he is. We then explore the life of which he has no awareness and see the day-to-day anguish of his wife, Helen and their children as well as his parents, all of whom are wondering where he is and how they are going to survive without him.
It must be a terrible thing to lose your memory as along with it goes your identity and without context, it is incredibly difficult to understand your place within the world you inhabit. Haglund goes some way to show the stress that this places on Olson as he tries to find work so that he has some shelter and food at least, if not comfort. But even this is difficult if you have no idea of skills you have learned or capabilities you may have. One of the things that I liked is the way that Olson copes; he is sure that there are people that he has left behind but he realises that he has to keep going, living in a sort of stasis until his mind decides to recover. But there is always the chance that it won't and this too is something that Olson tries to come to terms with.
Haglund is a competent writer and the book flows from start to finish as we follow Olson's life under aliases he has to choose and jobs that he has to obtain in different places. The depiction of the family and their vulnerability now that the breadwinner has disappeared shows a resilience in the face of what could become destitution but just like Olson, there is a keenness to endure, despite the odds. I especially liked Helen's gutsiness as well as Charles, her eldest boy's, maturity in the face of adversity.
This is not a deeply thoughtful book but I think Haglund was right to embroider the facts as this novel has in its pages an enjoyable and reasonably suspenseful mystery which deserves to be shared.
February 6, 2025
I chose this book to read when I met the author at a local book sale featuring local (Spokane) self-published authors. I was intrigued that the author had a small diary from his grandfather written when he had suffered from amnesia.
Although the story is only loosely based on true events, I enjoyed the story, the writing and the overall story of faith, hope, friendship and family. I loved that the story highlighted local places and events in and around Spokane where I live. However, I think this would be a good read for anyone.
I would definitely recommend this book and it is a pretty quick read.
Although the story is only loosely based on true events, I enjoyed the story, the writing and the overall story of faith, hope, friendship and family. I loved that the story highlighted local places and events in and around Spokane where I live. However, I think this would be a good read for anyone.
I would definitely recommend this book and it is a pretty quick read.
November 26, 2025
I enjoyed reading this story from a time over 100 years ago, about a man who suddenly forgets whom he is, and his struggle/journey to find himself again.
I also loved that this was written by a family member (that I met at a local author fair) which makes this story even more special.
Quick and enjoyable read!
I also loved that this was written by a family member (that I met at a local author fair) which makes this story even more special.
Quick and enjoyable read!
April 17, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story is a fictionalized account of a true story of a gentleman who suffers amnesia in the 1920s. The author, the grandson of the main character, does a wonderful job filling in the gaps from his grandfathers diary to create a wonderful story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews