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I Remember Certain Things
El Stanley-twenty-one years old and introverted-fails at the only thing they've thought about for years. Backdropped by the cold corridors of a psychiatric hospital, El searches for a reason to keep going amid the hazy aftermath of trauma, stumbling into unexpected friendships and a reality they never thought they could face.
El Stanley-fourteen years old and insecure-shuffles from home to theater practice, searching for a friend and somewhere to belong. Backdropped by the warm Tennessee sun, El meets James-sandy-haired, blue-eyed, and harboring a dangerous secret-stumbling into a situation that will test the boundaries of trust, loyalty, and regret.
I Remember Certain Things is a novel about sorrow and hope from someone crying out to be heard. Purposeful, authentic, and laced with humor, it weaves through time, tracing the line between mourning innocence lost and fighting to persevere-all while searching for belonging in any place that will offer it.
El Stanley-fourteen years old and insecure-shuffles from home to theater practice, searching for a friend and somewhere to belong. Backdropped by the warm Tennessee sun, El meets James-sandy-haired, blue-eyed, and harboring a dangerous secret-stumbling into a situation that will test the boundaries of trust, loyalty, and regret.
I Remember Certain Things is a novel about sorrow and hope from someone crying out to be heard. Purposeful, authentic, and laced with humor, it weaves through time, tracing the line between mourning innocence lost and fighting to persevere-all while searching for belonging in any place that will offer it.
344 pages, Paperback
Published September 22, 2025
6 people want to read
About the author
Eliza Danvers
1 book6 followersEliza Danvers is a Nashville-based author, illustrator, and movie enthusiast. They've spent most of their life reading books, finding solace and identity in other people's words. While fighting through depression, they finally learned the ability to write their own, finding freedom in writing and learning the steps of self-publishing. Eliza resides in a cozy townhouse they cannot afford with their husband and pet gecko.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 7, 2025
woah who’s the really cool indie author who wrote this? 👀
November 12, 2025
I cannot stress enough how profoundly this story has affected me. It’s one of those rare books that doesn’t just tug at your heartstrings, it wraps both hands around your chest and doesn’t let go.
Eliza Danvers has crafted a beautifully raw, hauntingly intimate portrait of what it means to live with the weight of your own mind. I Remember Certain Things is not just a story, it’s an experience. I felt like I was walking every step of El’s journey, breathing in their pain, their small moments of hope, the moments they wanted to give up and their attempts to keep going when everything feels unbearably heavy.
It’s achingly human. The kind of book that makes you clutch your chest, sit in silence after finishing it, just staring at the wall, letting the emotions settle. It’s about the resilience it takes to exist, about love in all its fragile and imperfect forms, and about the slow, uneven process of healing.
There are lines that have carved themselves into my memory, words that feel like they were written directly into my bones:
“It seems that as people grow, they grow into their skin, but my skin just gets tighter around me.”
“They’re gnarled and vicious, mean and taunting, and so deep inside me that they seem as real as my teeth and fingernails, wrapped up by the fear that no one will ever really, truly love me because I am fundamentally, irrevocably broken.”
“All I can do is my best. All I can do is keep counting a streak, even if it breaks.”
Not to mention the last line of the book (I won’t spoil it) struck me right in the heart and is going to live there forever.
This book is viscerally sad, but also breathtakingly honest. It lingers. It hurts. It heals. And I know it’s a story I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time. I can’t wait to see what Eliza Danvers writes next.
Eliza Danvers has crafted a beautifully raw, hauntingly intimate portrait of what it means to live with the weight of your own mind. I Remember Certain Things is not just a story, it’s an experience. I felt like I was walking every step of El’s journey, breathing in their pain, their small moments of hope, the moments they wanted to give up and their attempts to keep going when everything feels unbearably heavy.
It’s achingly human. The kind of book that makes you clutch your chest, sit in silence after finishing it, just staring at the wall, letting the emotions settle. It’s about the resilience it takes to exist, about love in all its fragile and imperfect forms, and about the slow, uneven process of healing.
There are lines that have carved themselves into my memory, words that feel like they were written directly into my bones:
“It seems that as people grow, they grow into their skin, but my skin just gets tighter around me.”
“They’re gnarled and vicious, mean and taunting, and so deep inside me that they seem as real as my teeth and fingernails, wrapped up by the fear that no one will ever really, truly love me because I am fundamentally, irrevocably broken.”
“All I can do is my best. All I can do is keep counting a streak, even if it breaks.”
Not to mention the last line of the book (I won’t spoil it) struck me right in the heart and is going to live there forever.
This book is viscerally sad, but also breathtakingly honest. It lingers. It hurts. It heals. And I know it’s a story I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time. I can’t wait to see what Eliza Danvers writes next.
October 22, 2025
Have you ever read something that breaks your heart and you feel really close to? But then, you finish it and you sigh and feel a sense of lightness. Because everything you just read was so wonderfully written and you just know that whatever this author produces in the future will be just as amazing.
October 12, 2025
it’s so beautiful and sad and human. eliza does an absolutely incredible job at showing both the beauty and pain that comes with mental health struggles, the friendships that can come from seeking help, and knowledge that there ARE people who care about you.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews