The Shadow of Memory

by Shaun Meeks

From the author of the Dillon the Monster Dick Series, At the Gates of Madness, and Down on the Farm comes a coming of age novella about loss, friendship, and growing up in the 80s.

After the loss of his mother, Danny says the wrong thing to the wrong person and finds himself an outcast. He soon becomes a target of bullies he once thought of as friends. Danny is isolated, spending his time at school doing everything he can to avoid the group, even hiding away under the stairs with a stack of comic books, and his lunch. He soon makes friends with another outcast, but there is no way to stand up to the bullies who want to make both their lives a living Hell.

The group of bullies, led by Jason keep pushing and pushing. Things escalate to a point where even Jason’s friends start to think he’s going too far, but Jason won’t let things go. He drags Danny to the creek, a place all the kids used to have fun, and forces him into the storm drain.

Locked in the dark and all alone, Danny is forced to face his fears, the loss of his mother, and the loneliness of his life. Only, Danny soon finds out he isn’t the only one there.

Something lurks in the shadows, a thing he’s been running from all his life, and realizes that maybe being all alone would be better.

104 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

About the author

Shaun Tawodi Meeks lives in Toronto, Ontario with his partner, Mina LaFleur. Together they own and operate their company L'Atelier de LaFleur. Shaun has been writing for many years now, with over 50 short stories in publication. He is proud of his Native American heritage, and has passed his passion of Native culture and history to his children who are Cherokee, Muskogee Creek, and Ojibwa. He is the author of the Dillion the Monster Dick series (The Gate at Lake Drive, Earthbound and Down, Altered Gate, Heads, You Lose, A Touch of Death, and the forthcoming In the Key of Insanity), Dark Reaches, Brother's Ilk, At the Gates of Madness, From Nightmares, Dream, Blood on the Ground: Six Shots of Southern Discomfort, Shutdown and the novelettes Down on the Farm and The Shadow of Memory. His most recent work has appeared in Midian Unmade, Terror Unimaginable, Pulp Noir, Rogue Nation, A Feast of Feast of Frights, Fresh Fear, Dark Moon Digest 15, Of Devils & Deviants. Shaun will be releasing his latest novel, The Place Where the Shadows Live, and a new collection, Salt on the Wounds soon. For more information or to contact him, go to www.shaunmeeks.com.

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful horror novellette that works so good on so many levels! It's a heartbreaking tale of grief and mourning (the teenage boy narrating the story just lost his mother and struggles to communicate with his father, both having difficulties coping with the loss); an riveting school drama about bullying, revenge, new friendships, and first love (the narrator is the target of his former friend - ones he befriended just to avoid getting picked on for being small and short); and a hair-raising creature feature (the bullies throw the kid in the sewer, where something traumatic happens). It's written as an autobiographical memoir, full of emotion, brimming with honesty and vulnerability. It ends in hope. However you decide to read it, it's a well-crafted story I eagerly recommend!

[Dave Granger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received a copy of this before the release for an honest review. As a note I'm a huge fan of his previous work. Especially his short stories. This one falls between a short one and a novel and it is up there with one of my favorites. The story is about Danny, a kid who recently lost his mom and he's in a bad place. When some of his friends start picking on him at the wrong time, he becomes a target of their bullying. Things go from bad to worse and it all pushes Danny to making a choice that follows him through his life. I can't recommend it enough!