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The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science
A first-person account of the author's experiences with her extraordinary photographic memory describes her efforts to come to terms with abilities that cause her to remember events and details with complete recall, in a memoir that also relates her participation in extensive scientific studies. 125,000 first printing.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews
April 17, 2009
This book sounded like it could have been awesome, but it wasn't. Maybe if the lady with amazing memory had done something exciting, like use her skills to decode secret terrorist mission orders for the CIA, it would have been worth reading. But unfortunately, she's just a normal nice lady who remembers everything, and does nothing interesting at all.
I will summarize the book (or the first half, because I admit to only reading that much and skimming the end) for those who have it on their to-read lists but want to be spared the boredom:
"Hello. I am Jill, and I remember everything that has ever happened to me. Like on June 5, 1987, I went to lunch with my friend Nancy to the Olive Garden. I ordered pasta and she ordered a shrimp dish. The crazy thing is, I'll talk to Nancy about that day, and she doesn't remember anything about it. That's so weird, because I remember every detail!
When I realized my memory was unique, I met with a memory scientist. To test if my memory really was amazing, he gave me a test. Here is every single question he asked me, and what I answered, in a complete and unedited fashion. (Followed by a complete list of boring questions about historical events on specific dates.) I don't only remember the historic events, like the space shuttle exploding, I remember that the day before my cat coughed up a furball all over my kitchen floor. I had to clean it up before The Cosby Show came on at 7 PM on channel 5. It was the episode where Rudy got in trouble for cutting school. It's so weird when people don't remember every single episode of TV shows they have watched. I'm like, how can you forget those kinds of things?
Now, normal memory works like this: you forget most stuff, but remember big events in your life. That is so weird! My memory is so not like that at all. I remember EVERYTHING. I can't imagine having forgotten any detail of my life, like what happened on February 9, 1996. That was the day I met Tiffany to go shopping at the mall for a new dress. That night was windy, but not too cold, so it blew my hair around and made it messy. We ended up buying the blue dress for me. I really liked the red one, though. If I could go back I would buy that one instead.
THE END (of my unofficial abridged version of this book)."
If that's not enough for you all to take it off of your "to-read" lists, you are really boring people, too. And I will totally never forget that about you.
I will summarize the book (or the first half, because I admit to only reading that much and skimming the end) for those who have it on their to-read lists but want to be spared the boredom:
"Hello. I am Jill, and I remember everything that has ever happened to me. Like on June 5, 1987, I went to lunch with my friend Nancy to the Olive Garden. I ordered pasta and she ordered a shrimp dish. The crazy thing is, I'll talk to Nancy about that day, and she doesn't remember anything about it. That's so weird, because I remember every detail!
When I realized my memory was unique, I met with a memory scientist. To test if my memory really was amazing, he gave me a test. Here is every single question he asked me, and what I answered, in a complete and unedited fashion. (Followed by a complete list of boring questions about historical events on specific dates.) I don't only remember the historic events, like the space shuttle exploding, I remember that the day before my cat coughed up a furball all over my kitchen floor. I had to clean it up before The Cosby Show came on at 7 PM on channel 5. It was the episode where Rudy got in trouble for cutting school. It's so weird when people don't remember every single episode of TV shows they have watched. I'm like, how can you forget those kinds of things?
Now, normal memory works like this: you forget most stuff, but remember big events in your life. That is so weird! My memory is so not like that at all. I remember EVERYTHING. I can't imagine having forgotten any detail of my life, like what happened on February 9, 1996. That was the day I met Tiffany to go shopping at the mall for a new dress. That night was windy, but not too cold, so it blew my hair around and made it messy. We ended up buying the blue dress for me. I really liked the red one, though. If I could go back I would buy that one instead.
THE END (of my unofficial abridged version of this book)."
If that's not enough for you all to take it off of your "to-read" lists, you are really boring people, too. And I will totally never forget that about you.
March 3, 2009
Others have criticized this one as too many details of her life, and not enough science, but I found the book interesting; it's a memoir explaining the situation from Price's point-of-view, not an Oliver Sachs-type medical analysis. At times, it did read a bit like "What I did on my summer vacation", but the narrator does a good job of inflection and highlighting to "show" emotion, where in print I'd say the story would seem choppy.
Recommended with moderate enthusiasm for those who enjoy memoir genre, looking for a medium length (7 hour) book.
Recommended with moderate enthusiasm for those who enjoy memoir genre, looking for a medium length (7 hour) book.
June 16, 2008
It's a W.O.T. (Waste of Time)
Jill Price has an incredible memory which since early childhood - she can tell you what she had for lunch on June 3rd, 1984. OK. That's amazing, but this is a magazine article stretched over 250 pages, and after page 15 my optimism was the only thing keeping me turning those pages.
Jill Price has an incredible memory which since early childhood - she can tell you what she had for lunch on June 3rd, 1984. OK. That's amazing, but this is a magazine article stretched over 250 pages, and after page 15 my optimism was the only thing keeping me turning those pages.
October 8, 2011
This autobiography is part memoir, part scientific case study, and part drama. The story is presented mostly chronologically and the author, Jill Price, opens her heart to the reader. She honestly details her stuggles through childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. At time times her recollections seemed tedious and rather ordinary, just challenges that normal people face. The difference is her inability to forget and move on.
Before this book I never really appreciated my "poor" memory, now I see it as such a blessing. If someone has offended me by saying something thoughtless I usually forget about it and that's the end of it. Jill Price can't forget and she can't even control recall. Her memories are thrust back at her, in vivid detail whether she wants to remember them or not. Her super memory damned her in the past.
My favorite part of the book is how she learned to cope with her memory and live in the present. It moved me to tears.
Before this book I never really appreciated my "poor" memory, now I see it as such a blessing. If someone has offended me by saying something thoughtless I usually forget about it and that's the end of it. Jill Price can't forget and she can't even control recall. Her memories are thrust back at her, in vivid detail whether she wants to remember them or not. Her super memory damned her in the past.
My favorite part of the book is how she learned to cope with her memory and live in the present. It moved me to tears.
June 12, 2009
Mrs. Price seems to define herself by only her remarkable memory, which turns out to be far, far less interesting than it seems. Her ability to remember (or: inability to forget) is a constant intruder.
Unfortunately, the book is a dull read. She spends half her time complaining of what a torment it is to remember everything and the other half reflecting on how scary & awful it must be for the normals who forget things.
"Oh," she laments, "if I could teach myself to remember only the happy things!" - as though no one else has bad memories. We normals have the added frailty of forgetting the happy things, too.
There is something to be learned from it, perhaps, about loss, and finally about growing up. If it hadn't taken Price 40 years to learn those lessons, her book would be more worthwhile.
Unfortunately, the book is a dull read. She spends half her time complaining of what a torment it is to remember everything and the other half reflecting on how scary & awful it must be for the normals who forget things.
"Oh," she laments, "if I could teach myself to remember only the happy things!" - as though no one else has bad memories. We normals have the added frailty of forgetting the happy things, too.
There is something to be learned from it, perhaps, about loss, and finally about growing up. If it hadn't taken Price 40 years to learn those lessons, her book would be more worthwhile.
April 1, 2022
This book changed my life. My husband read it, and then he told me that I absolutely HAD to read it because Jill Price reminded him so much of me! I read it and I agreed, and I have identified as having hyperthymestic syndrome ever since.
The biggest differences are that I generally don't pay attention to the date, so it is only on days when I paid attention to the date at the time, that I know when something happened (no mental calendar for events, either), though I can often narrow it down based on details in the memory, such as, "It had to be Spring of 2005-2007, because...." And, I have an incredible talent for memorization, however, my working memory is terrible (the type of memory for what I am currently saying, doing, thinking, or planning), due to neurocognitive dysfunction of my right temporal lobe (I have many neurological differences, including autism).
I had no idea how different I was from others until I read this book. I never understood why my family members would tell me that I had imagined or made up things when I remembered them so vividly, and why giving more detail, such as the weather that day, what I was wearing and what they were wearing, etc., did not help them believe me. They just said, with mocking incredulity, "Oh, really? What were you wearing?" Because as a child, that is what I always added to try to make them believe me.
As to other things, yes it is absolutely a disability. Like how I memorized everything at work, when we were meant to look them up, then when things changed and I gave wrong info because I didn't look it up, and no one else believed that it had been the way it was when I was hired, because no one else remembered the old policies (and we were never retrained on that which no one expected us to remember).
Or, much worse, how would you like to vividly remember being violently assaulted? Or how you felt when your mom died? Or to run into an old friend that you hadn't seen in 20 years, ready to pick up like you saw them 2 weeks ago...but they don't remember anything except, vaguely, that you were once friends, while to me, everything is still right there. Like yesterday. But it's ancient history to them. All the feelings and memories are just gone.
It's like everyone else has amnesia. My life is a Twilight Zone episode in some ways. The world makes more sense now that I understand that. Thank you, Jill Price! Ignore the haters with their 1-star reviews. Your book changes lives.
The biggest differences are that I generally don't pay attention to the date, so it is only on days when I paid attention to the date at the time, that I know when something happened (no mental calendar for events, either), though I can often narrow it down based on details in the memory, such as, "It had to be Spring of 2005-2007, because...." And, I have an incredible talent for memorization, however, my working memory is terrible (the type of memory for what I am currently saying, doing, thinking, or planning), due to neurocognitive dysfunction of my right temporal lobe (I have many neurological differences, including autism).
I had no idea how different I was from others until I read this book. I never understood why my family members would tell me that I had imagined or made up things when I remembered them so vividly, and why giving more detail, such as the weather that day, what I was wearing and what they were wearing, etc., did not help them believe me. They just said, with mocking incredulity, "Oh, really? What were you wearing?" Because as a child, that is what I always added to try to make them believe me.
As to other things, yes it is absolutely a disability. Like how I memorized everything at work, when we were meant to look them up, then when things changed and I gave wrong info because I didn't look it up, and no one else believed that it had been the way it was when I was hired, because no one else remembered the old policies (and we were never retrained on that which no one expected us to remember).
Or, much worse, how would you like to vividly remember being violently assaulted? Or how you felt when your mom died? Or to run into an old friend that you hadn't seen in 20 years, ready to pick up like you saw them 2 weeks ago...but they don't remember anything except, vaguely, that you were once friends, while to me, everything is still right there. Like yesterday. But it's ancient history to them. All the feelings and memories are just gone.
It's like everyone else has amnesia. My life is a Twilight Zone episode in some ways. The world makes more sense now that I understand that. Thank you, Jill Price! Ignore the haters with their 1-star reviews. Your book changes lives.
September 8, 2009
Interestingly, I think it takes a different kind of memory from the kind that Jill Price possesses to write an engaging narrative. The kind of memory she has is very specific: she can and does relive flashes of her life constantly, vividly and without any real control. BUT she has difficulty with rote memorization.
And a great deal of book-writing IS rote memorization. You have to know what you've already said, and make sure you only say it once. Price seems to forget, chapter by chapter, what she has told the audience and repeats herself-- verbatim in some instances. To me, it was fascinating to see the process of creativity at work in someone who has a peculiar brain condition. It's almost as if she "never grew up," never learned that there are times when our feelings and memories simply do not matter. I had a hard time relating to her lengthy harping on the misery of moving when she was eight, even though I myself vowed never to smile again when my family uprooted me at age six.
While this is not a bad book, and I found it a pleasant audio-read, it was not especially engaging. Not truly for lack of material (she's lost loved ones, gone through debilitating depression, etc.) but for a lack of ability to convey what she is going through. In her mind, she has only to jot a date and the whole memory comes to rich, evocative life. For a reader, one needs to have the sounds, the scents, the details of each experience explained.
I think I liked this book a great deal more than I would have had I not read some of the negative reviews, and known what I was getting myself into.
Also, this book seems unsure about whether it wants to be a memoir, or a scientific article on memory. It has elements of both in it. Maybe I've been tricked into eating my peas and carrots with the clever guise of memoir, though, because I don't think I would otherwise have learned what this book has to say about the science of memory.
And a great deal of book-writing IS rote memorization. You have to know what you've already said, and make sure you only say it once. Price seems to forget, chapter by chapter, what she has told the audience and repeats herself-- verbatim in some instances. To me, it was fascinating to see the process of creativity at work in someone who has a peculiar brain condition. It's almost as if she "never grew up," never learned that there are times when our feelings and memories simply do not matter. I had a hard time relating to her lengthy harping on the misery of moving when she was eight, even though I myself vowed never to smile again when my family uprooted me at age six.
While this is not a bad book, and I found it a pleasant audio-read, it was not especially engaging. Not truly for lack of material (she's lost loved ones, gone through debilitating depression, etc.) but for a lack of ability to convey what she is going through. In her mind, she has only to jot a date and the whole memory comes to rich, evocative life. For a reader, one needs to have the sounds, the scents, the details of each experience explained.
I think I liked this book a great deal more than I would have had I not read some of the negative reviews, and known what I was getting myself into.
Also, this book seems unsure about whether it wants to be a memoir, or a scientific article on memory. It has elements of both in it. Maybe I've been tricked into eating my peas and carrots with the clever guise of memoir, though, because I don't think I would otherwise have learned what this book has to say about the science of memory.
June 18, 2008
*Spoiler Alert*
This book was a scientific dissapointment. I had wanted more science and information and less "I suffer from lots of memories". A quick read, this woman seems to suffer from hoarding as well. I am saddened by her non compliant husbands death. All in all this should be touted more as a biography with little scientific content.
This book was a scientific dissapointment. I had wanted more science and information and less "I suffer from lots of memories". A quick read, this woman seems to suffer from hoarding as well. I am saddened by her non compliant husbands death. All in all this should be touted more as a biography with little scientific content.
February 17, 2009
I initially believed a strong memory would be a blessing but after listening to this book I now realize the curse of reliving all moments of life - especially those I'd prefer to forget.
It would be horrible to not be able to live in the moment and Jill Price's obsessive need to document/remember is something I would not want to live with.
It would be horrible to not be able to live in the moment and Jill Price's obsessive need to document/remember is something I would not want to live with.
July 7, 2009
Show, don't tell! Show, don't tell! The mantra of writing teachers everywhere is being shouted to the rooftops while reading this book.
Though not boring or horribly written, Price still manages to frustrate me with passages like:
“Packing up all of my artifacts was one of the most grueling and emotionally depleting experiences of my life.”
Again, please show us what you mean by that. Give us some examples rather than just moving on to the next thought. So much of the book is written in this manner that the reader has very little to go on in terms of sympathizing with the author. When I read general comments such as the one above, all I can think to myself is, “Spoiled little rich girl who likes to make everyone think she's got it bad in life.” Given the complexity of Price’s memory, I would think she would have the ability to put us inside the situation and make us feel for her and what she was going through. Instead, she only manages to scratch the surface of her life, and given the emotionally wrenching experience she went through with the death of her husband, I was amazed at how void of emotion I felt when I was reading about that - and I'm someone who cries at the drop of a hat.
Though not boring or horribly written, Price still manages to frustrate me with passages like:
“Packing up all of my artifacts was one of the most grueling and emotionally depleting experiences of my life.”
Again, please show us what you mean by that. Give us some examples rather than just moving on to the next thought. So much of the book is written in this manner that the reader has very little to go on in terms of sympathizing with the author. When I read general comments such as the one above, all I can think to myself is, “Spoiled little rich girl who likes to make everyone think she's got it bad in life.” Given the complexity of Price’s memory, I would think she would have the ability to put us inside the situation and make us feel for her and what she was going through. Instead, she only manages to scratch the surface of her life, and given the emotionally wrenching experience she went through with the death of her husband, I was amazed at how void of emotion I felt when I was reading about that - and I'm someone who cries at the drop of a hat.
September 6, 2016
2.5 stars
The topic here is fascinating, the delivery left a bit to be desired.
Jill Price has an extraordinary autobiographical memory, and memory and how the brain works will pull me in anytime. I have thought much on memory, I've found my own to be excessive in certain areas and what I think of as lacking in others, so some of the discussion of memory types was great. Jill can recall all the mundane as well as the fantastic in her life with incredible clarity, but struggles with rote memorization. I was looking forward to the science, but there was little. She contacts a memory researcher who works with her, but the shared process and results of that felt cursory at best. Instead, most of the book is spent relating her life living with her memory... which is where the writing struggles.
She allows her memory to inundate her and take over much of her life. Many people have remarkable circumstances they have to live with and manage to function in a way that Jill couldn't, until on __date she could. Because she decided to. Like the rest of us have to decide how to behave. I really wanted to feel for her, but found myself feeling very little on Jill's behalf, she just kept writing in a way that had my eyebrow raised at her repeatedly. Speaking of repeatedly, the repetition in here is pretty bad. She explains and re-explains her type of memory so many times. She also exclaims about just how weird it is that we normal people can't remember what, for example, we ate at a specific restaurant on a specific day 15 years ago on an outing of no consequence. "So weird, because I can remember everything." is a common feeling she shares. All the lists of specific dates were impressive in the memory, but book bloatware in the context of repetition and tedium.
So. Again, absolutely fascinating situation - I'm glad for the recommendation for what it did offer and it's not a long book so it's not like it claimed much of me. I just wish a better editor had been employed.
The topic here is fascinating, the delivery left a bit to be desired.
Jill Price has an extraordinary autobiographical memory, and memory and how the brain works will pull me in anytime. I have thought much on memory, I've found my own to be excessive in certain areas and what I think of as lacking in others, so some of the discussion of memory types was great. Jill can recall all the mundane as well as the fantastic in her life with incredible clarity, but struggles with rote memorization. I was looking forward to the science, but there was little. She contacts a memory researcher who works with her, but the shared process and results of that felt cursory at best. Instead, most of the book is spent relating her life living with her memory... which is where the writing struggles.
She allows her memory to inundate her and take over much of her life. Many people have remarkable circumstances they have to live with and manage to function in a way that Jill couldn't, until on __date she could. Because she decided to. Like the rest of us have to decide how to behave. I really wanted to feel for her, but found myself feeling very little on Jill's behalf, she just kept writing in a way that had my eyebrow raised at her repeatedly. Speaking of repeatedly, the repetition in here is pretty bad. She explains and re-explains her type of memory so many times. She also exclaims about just how weird it is that we normal people can't remember what, for example, we ate at a specific restaurant on a specific day 15 years ago on an outing of no consequence. "So weird, because I can remember everything." is a common feeling she shares. All the lists of specific dates were impressive in the memory, but book bloatware in the context of repetition and tedium.
So. Again, absolutely fascinating situation - I'm glad for the recommendation for what it did offer and it's not a long book so it's not like it claimed much of me. I just wish a better editor had been employed.
July 24, 2008
I knew this book wasn't going to be the greatest, but I gave it a quick read just for whatever I could glean from it. It's written in a fairly simple style, so it's easy to whip through. There was a little bit of interesting information about how the rest of us store (or don't store) and retrieve memories.
This is really just this woman's autobiography told from the perspective of how her unusual memory has influenced her life and relationships. She's obsessed with the past and fearful about the future, and has a very difficult time just being in the present because her memory is always running full tilt and she can't shut it off. She also has an obsessive need to journal every single day she's ever lived. If she goes a long time without keeping a record, she feels compelled to go back and fill in every day. Of course, this is possible for her because of the nature of her condition.
This woman is the only person they know of that has this condition, and they are still studying her. Her brain scans do show that certain parts of her brain are larger than normal. Other than that, they don't know much.
This is really just this woman's autobiography told from the perspective of how her unusual memory has influenced her life and relationships. She's obsessed with the past and fearful about the future, and has a very difficult time just being in the present because her memory is always running full tilt and she can't shut it off. She also has an obsessive need to journal every single day she's ever lived. If she goes a long time without keeping a record, she feels compelled to go back and fill in every day. Of course, this is possible for her because of the nature of her condition.
This woman is the only person they know of that has this condition, and they are still studying her. Her brain scans do show that certain parts of her brain are larger than normal. Other than that, they don't know much.
January 2, 2009
I enjoy nonfiction and I enjoy reading about how the brain works. I wish this book had contained more about the brain and a little less about what the author watched on TV on Mar. 9, 1995. However, because the topic, remarkable memory, is so interesting, this book is worth reading. Just read fast when the story gets too detailed about things that don't matter.
She loves writing a journal about her daily simple activities and elaborating about it in the book. I had to wonder if she would be the type of person you would see at a party, or while out shopping, and you would head in the opposite direction. That sounds cruel, but she seemed to enjoy going on and on about nothing.
Not only is the author unable to forget even the most mundane events in her life, she is unable to throw away items that are tied to memories. In her case then, she can't throw anything away, because she remembers everything. Her house must be filled with junk! I couldn't stand to be married to anyone like that!
Jill's quirkiness did make the book interesting for me as I climbed into her brain and tried to figure her out.
She loves writing a journal about her daily simple activities and elaborating about it in the book. I had to wonder if she would be the type of person you would see at a party, or while out shopping, and you would head in the opposite direction. That sounds cruel, but she seemed to enjoy going on and on about nothing.
Not only is the author unable to forget even the most mundane events in her life, she is unable to throw away items that are tied to memories. In her case then, she can't throw anything away, because she remembers everything. Her house must be filled with junk! I couldn't stand to be married to anyone like that!
Jill's quirkiness did make the book interesting for me as I climbed into her brain and tried to figure her out.
March 15, 2020
Jill Price can remember everything she did and any major or minor events that took place on any date from the time she was about 11 years old. Before that, she remembers some, starting from when she was 2- or 3-years old. Problem is, the memories bombard her all the time; it just doesn’t turn off. When she was younger, she didn’t know this wasn’t the case for everyone. But, as she got older and tried to explain, people didn’t understand.
Her memories include both the good and the bad, everything. This book explains what’s going on in her head, then goes back to explain how it has affected her at various points throughout her life.
I found this really interesting. I don’t understand the low ratings, though from reading reviews, it seems like some didn’t like the biography/memoir part of the book, but I thought that really illustrated things. Apparently, she was the first person (in the early 2000s?) diagnosed with this: what they called “hyperthymestic syndrome”, but there are others now, as well. Scientists have been studying her (and she seems happy to have them do so to figure out how her brain works), and papers have been written about her, using a pseudonym.
Her memories include both the good and the bad, everything. This book explains what’s going on in her head, then goes back to explain how it has affected her at various points throughout her life.
I found this really interesting. I don’t understand the low ratings, though from reading reviews, it seems like some didn’t like the biography/memoir part of the book, but I thought that really illustrated things. Apparently, she was the first person (in the early 2000s?) diagnosed with this: what they called “hyperthymestic syndrome”, but there are others now, as well. Scientists have been studying her (and she seems happy to have them do so to figure out how her brain works), and papers have been written about her, using a pseudonym.
October 2, 2010
To be honest, I only listened to one of 6 discs. Even that was overly long.
She explained and re-explained and re-re-explained her condition. The first disc alone had more than one list of dates and things she'd done on those dates. This was not particularly meaningful as I have no evidence it was accurate. And while it was interesting to learn that the memories are so vivid she experiences the same physical reaction to the emotions she did at the time, I don't think I needed to be told that more than once to get it.
I was hoping it was going to get more into what this all means for the science of memory. And I wouldn't have minded it get somewhat philosophical and discussing whether she has an especially "good" memory or an especially "bad" memory and what it would mean for society if we were all like her.
But it didn't seem to be headed in that direction and based on the other reviews, I decided not to wait and around and see if just maybe it did go that way.
She explained and re-explained and re-re-explained her condition. The first disc alone had more than one list of dates and things she'd done on those dates. This was not particularly meaningful as I have no evidence it was accurate. And while it was interesting to learn that the memories are so vivid she experiences the same physical reaction to the emotions she did at the time, I don't think I needed to be told that more than once to get it.
I was hoping it was going to get more into what this all means for the science of memory. And I wouldn't have minded it get somewhat philosophical and discussing whether she has an especially "good" memory or an especially "bad" memory and what it would mean for society if we were all like her.
But it didn't seem to be headed in that direction and based on the other reviews, I decided not to wait and around and see if just maybe it did go that way.
March 2, 2016
I listened to this book at bed time, so I probably didn't get the most out of it. The woman in this book started to have a remarkable memory of her life, when she was fourteen years old. She can remember the major events that took place on any day, and she remembers what she did on every day. That sounds like a great gift, but she explains, that she has no control over the memories that surface at any given time. That would be very difficult. Scientist studied her to help understand memory, in hopes of helping others. It was interesting.
November 23, 2008
Loving this book! Just got it yesterday & am about half way finished. First time I am finding out about someone with a mind similar to mine! Got to get back to reading it, now. If you do or don't have a detailed memory like us is it valuable to read; for one thing it will explain what I am like inside my head! I highly recommend it to anyone who knows me! :-)
July 17, 2017
yang aku suka dari buku-buku textbook psikologi dasar yang direferensikan oleh dosenku adalah buku-buku tersebut tidak hanya menerangkan teori saja, tetapi juga memaparkan fakta-fakta menarik mengenai orang-orang menarik di luar sana. biasanya dipaparkan di awal bab, sebagai kisah pembuka akan hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan bab tersebut dari segi teori. aku pertama kali mengenal nama Jill Price dari salah satu buku tersebut, sebagai kisah kecil pembuka. yang kemudian aku gali lagi karena kebetulan aku sedang belajar mengenai memori (lagi) di psikologi kognitif dan aku teringat soal Jill Price. yang tidak bisa lupa.
Jill Price adalah satu dari sedikit orang yang mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengingat segala sesuatu yang terjadi dalam hidupnya. dia mengidap HSAM atau Highly Superior Autobiography Memory. dia ingat sampai ke tanggal, bulan, tahun bahkan hari. beri dia tanggal atau kejadian yang pernah terjadi selama dia hidup, dia mampu menyebutkan kejadian apa yang terjadi dan kapan tepatnya. hanya saja kemampuan super tersebut terbatas pada hal2 yang berkaitan dengan dirinya dan jika sesuatu tersebut menarik perhatiannya. ini seperti ketika kita mengalami flashblulb memory, ketika kita benar-benar dapat mengingat suatu kejadian seperti kita sedang menonton film, bagi Jill Price semua ingatan dari dia berumur 14 (saat ketika dia merasa "complete") terasa seperti itu. seperti film yang diputar terus menerus.
buku ini membantuku melihat bagaimana pengalaman Jill selama dia hidup. aku memberi banyak tanda pada hal-hal yang baru kuketahui, yang berhubungan dengan science, yang kebanyakan ada di bagian awal buku. tetapi semakin lama beberapa hal seperti diceritakan dengan gaya yang sama dan jadi terkesan repetitif, yang cukup membuatku bosan dan mengantuk, sebelum kembali menarik lagi di bagian akhir buku. overall 3 bintang buat buku ini.
There is a goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne; but none of Forgetting. Yet there should be, as they are twin sisters, twin powers, and walk on either side of us, disputing for sovereignty over us and who we are.
—Richard Holmes, A Meander Through Memory and Forgetting
December 15, 2024
I found this case to be fascinating and disagree with other reviewers. I greatly enjoyed the personal perspective told as a memoir. As someone who identifies as having a very strong autobiographical and sensory memory (from my personal comparative observation- I’ve never been “tested”), I really enjoyed learning how a rare super-human level of recall is a hindrance in everyday life more than a gift.
While I may have liked a bit more detail in the back half of the book on the methodology of the scientists conducting research, overall, it felt fairly balanced, considering this is from Jill’s perspective as a non-scientist. It seems other reviewers expect her to be an expert on memory, herself. If you’re mostly interested in the study, she provided sufficient references to look it up and just read that, along with a fair amount of other bodies of related research! The thing that I found myself to be most curious about in the end was the intertwining of memory and how it played into her social psychological experiences, as well as its resulting in compulsions that just seemed so daunting on top of not being able to utilize memory in a way that benefits general learning and knowledge. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t utilize this for anything so spectacular as others seem to expect. We have the internet for fact-checking now… what would you expect this to contribute outside of scientific research, to which she’s clearly already contributing so much of her time and life?
While I may have liked a bit more detail in the back half of the book on the methodology of the scientists conducting research, overall, it felt fairly balanced, considering this is from Jill’s perspective as a non-scientist. It seems other reviewers expect her to be an expert on memory, herself. If you’re mostly interested in the study, she provided sufficient references to look it up and just read that, along with a fair amount of other bodies of related research! The thing that I found myself to be most curious about in the end was the intertwining of memory and how it played into her social psychological experiences, as well as its resulting in compulsions that just seemed so daunting on top of not being able to utilize memory in a way that benefits general learning and knowledge. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t utilize this for anything so spectacular as others seem to expect. We have the internet for fact-checking now… what would you expect this to contribute outside of scientific research, to which she’s clearly already contributing so much of her time and life?
August 13, 2020
I was disappointed that she didn't go into full detail about a couple of her memory days,,,,things like I got up, full of energy, it was cloudy, we ate here, it was a Tuesday, the waiter wasnt really friendly, I had this, she had that, we talked about this teacher, we walked around the block, I tripped on a tree root, it was an old Oak, I caught myself on the light pole and we laughed for 10 minutes and replayed the 'trick.' On and on. She could have included every little detail of some days,,,I couldn't figure out if she actually remembers all that. Does she remember every little detail? Or is it just certain 'everything?'
I did like the end section, where she loved and lost her husband, in a general sad, interesting, learning way she described it.
I did like the end section, where she loved and lost her husband, in a general sad, interesting, learning way she described it.
October 6, 2009
Of mild interest but I felt it became quite boring to hear a lot about her somewhat mundane life events e.g. on 17 Dec 1985 I went with my mother to the shop and .... on 23 April 1994 I got a phone call from the doctor at 9am .... on new years day of 1981 I was surprised by my fathers call .... etc etc over and over and over) rather than about the 'condition' itself.
She repeats what she did on particular days (none specifically interesting or abnormal in terms of regular persons lives) over and over and over -- perhaps to prove her ability to remember, but generally it achieves boredom for the reader rather than being interesting in any particular sense.
Personally I would have found it a lot more interesting if she explained more detail of how the negative memories affected her approach to life, how the interaction with those around her was affected by her memory (e.g. her school teacher interactions), or more detail regarding how she slowly unearthed the fact that she was different from others.
Bottom line - worth a read --- but just barely.
She repeats what she did on particular days (none specifically interesting or abnormal in terms of regular persons lives) over and over and over -- perhaps to prove her ability to remember, but generally it achieves boredom for the reader rather than being interesting in any particular sense.
Personally I would have found it a lot more interesting if she explained more detail of how the negative memories affected her approach to life, how the interaction with those around her was affected by her memory (e.g. her school teacher interactions), or more detail regarding how she slowly unearthed the fact that she was different from others.
Bottom line - worth a read --- but just barely.
April 1, 2022
This book is a clear window into an otherwise murky condition.
I have the pleasure of being married to someone with hyperthymestic syndrome.
Although I knew from experience that she did have a superior autobiographical memory, I didn't understand the IMPLICATIONS until I read this book.
I realized that what I thought was hoarding was actually the careful and deliberate preservation of memory tokens. I realized that why she was so forgiving is because she can't ever, "Forgive and forget," because the latter is impossible. And when we have a disagreement about what actually happened, I know she's almost certainly correct.
I made an impassioned plea to her and her family to read this book, because before I read it, I wasn't actually in a relationship with the woman who would one day become my wife, I was only on a very long date, for over a decade. Her family wouldn't read it, but she did, and I knew that this was the woman I wanted to spend my life with.
I have the pleasure of being married to someone with hyperthymestic syndrome.
Although I knew from experience that she did have a superior autobiographical memory, I didn't understand the IMPLICATIONS until I read this book.
I realized that what I thought was hoarding was actually the careful and deliberate preservation of memory tokens. I realized that why she was so forgiving is because she can't ever, "Forgive and forget," because the latter is impossible. And when we have a disagreement about what actually happened, I know she's almost certainly correct.
I made an impassioned plea to her and her family to read this book, because before I read it, I wasn't actually in a relationship with the woman who would one day become my wife, I was only on a very long date, for over a decade. Her family wouldn't read it, but she did, and I knew that this was the woman I wanted to spend my life with.
January 11, 2009
Jill's condition is incredible to think about and she does a good job of explaining what it is like for her on a psychological level to never forget not only events, but also to feel now what she felt at the time they occurred. The neuroscience and psychological issues touched upon are fascinating. (It's really hard to "grow up" when you are constantly re-feeling all the emotions of your childhood and adolescence!) However, I found the repetition in the book irritating and the amount of time she spent reporting what she'd watched on TV a sad comment on her life and our society.
July 24, 2009
I borrowed the audio version of this book from the library and am listening to it when I drive in the car. It's an intriguing story which gives some interesting insights as to how our memory works. It describes the many different kinds of memory we store in our brains.
Didn't finish listening. Author gave too many details about her life and not enough about the way the memory works inside the brain, although she did explain a few things. Her life's details were too boring to continue listening to.
Didn't finish listening. Author gave too many details about her life and not enough about the way the memory works inside the brain, although she did explain a few things. Her life's details were too boring to continue listening to.
February 4, 2016
Fascinating and really hard to put down. Imagine having flashbacks -- pure, unaltered, you-are-there-now flashbacks -- of everything that has ever happened to you, constantly and without warning. How would you manage your everyday life? This is the life story of a woman with one of the most mixed blessings ever -- a flawless, intrusive, uncontrollable, complete memory of everything that ever happened to her from the time she was about 14. She writes about how this has alternately enhanced and devastated her life.
December 19, 2014
The author's explanation of how her memory works really helped me clarify a lot of the differences in my experience of memory than that of most people I know. It was a really personally-interesting book for me, but I can understand the complaints of other readers who likely didn't have that weird personal connection with the subject matter.
February 15, 2018
Fascinating read about memory and how it defines who we are. I felt sorry for the author and I can’t imagine her nightmare. I have known many hoarders in my life and I wonder if they don’t have similar memory issues.
Good, interesting read. Made me grateful for all I remember and grateful for all I forget.
Good, interesting read. Made me grateful for all I remember and grateful for all I forget.
May 29, 2008
Tried to read it and was bored out of my gourd.
I didn't like her writing style and she wasn't able to keep me interested in her memory affliction to continue reading.
I didn't like her writing style and she wasn't able to keep me interested in her memory affliction to continue reading.
December 30, 2008
Not only does she have an exceptional memory, she also has some real hoarding issues. What I thought might be a revelatory tale was actually just pitiable and sad. Not recommended.
March 8, 2016
What a fascinating woman.Well written and a quick read.I cried my eyes out on the last chapters was not prepared for that. Highly recommend this book.
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