Remember For Me

by Diana Tarant Schmidt

Clara Eros thought her life was ending with Alzheimer's. She was mistaken. A war between good and evil has raged for as long as humanity has existed, and the balance of power between its forces has always remained equal. But that longstanding balance has begun to shift, and the survival of mankind may be at risk. What is the source of this duality, and how do the proponents of light and darkness use humans to further their cause? When Clara Eros awakens with no memory, her questions are fundamental: who is she; and why is she here? The answer she receives is predetermined and singular: she has been recruited to fight a battle against the reign of darkness. But is Clara just a pawn in a much larger game? Once her transformation is complete, Clara finds herself, in body and mind, as a younger, stronger version of the person she can no longer remember, and now she must search for the common thread hidden within malevolence and turn the tide in a war where humanity is succumbing to chaos and brutality. Will she be strong enough to bring humanity back into the light?

276 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2016

About the author

Diana Tarant Schmidt loves getting lost in a story, and it is that love that is the undercurrent to all that she does.

For fourteen years she has taught junior high school, and she shares her love of stories with her students.

Through teaching, Diana has also gained an enthusiasm for service. With the help of her students, she executes several projects each year, donating money, objects and time to various organizations in the Chicago area where she lives and works.

When not teaching, she and her husband find time for small adventures. Diana’s favorites include running the marathon, mountain hiking and travel.

Outside the classroom, Diana writes curriculum and raises two incredible humans along with the best partner and true superhero imaginable.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are people born inherently good? What lures them to the dark side? This is a remarkable story that examines the duality between the light of humanity and the darkness that lurks in shaded corners. Two characters, having succumbed to Alzheimer’s and cancer, are reborn as another version of themselves to work for an organization that takes action against the hate in the world. Clara has no memory of her previous life, but is now equipped with superhuman intel abilities; Tom is mentally and physically successful at his new mission, but struggles emotionally with flooding memories of his past life while training. Two of the major thematic questions, faith and memories, truly intrigued me as I have often questioned the existence and purpose of them.

In gorgeous prose filled with compelling characters, wrenching emotions, and philosophical teachings about the history of humanity, Schmidt weaves beautifully together religion/spirituality, political conflicts, and the mythological divine in this tale of good overcoming evil. She had my heart racing at the climax, when so many elements of the story came together to have questions answered and faith restored; the imagery of humanity coming together to protect and support one another is hauntingly resolute. I definitely recommend this book to any who believes that love overcomes hate and work must be done to spread that goodness around. I have an added bonus of knowing the author personally, and look forward to talking more about this novel and its intricate details!

[Brandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I am speechless...just WOW! To be honest, this isn't the kind of book that I would normally find myself picking up off the shelf and reading, but I am so glad that I did. This book had me crying in one chapter, pulling me in even more with cliffhangers in the next, and then leaving me with such thought-provoking questions. Diana Tarant Schmidt portrays this unique story with such exquisite detail while also leaving you guessing and thinking throughout each page. This book was phenomenal and no matter what you have experienced in your life or what you believe (or what religion you practice), there is something in this book for everyone!! I encourage everyone to take a chance and read this spectacular book and see just what you can discover within its pages!!

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunned.

Remember For Me hit super close to home. Readers who have experienced the pains of losing a family member to the debilitating diseases cancer or Alzheimer's will likely find themselves attached to each chapter and (mostly) each character. Yes, I am one of those readers. This book does not shy away from the heartache and pains of suffering and loss, for both the family and the patient, old and young. However, it is important to understand, that Remember For Me is not about life slipping away. It is most certainly not about defeat.

Remember For Me gives new gravity to life, death, and assigns a confidence that there is something far greater than we could ever appreciate is happening just under our noses. Why do we have to suffer? The battle of good and evil has always existed but who are the key players? How do we retain a balance? How does religion and spirituality fit in? Race and culture? Love? Remember For Me stirs each factor together, whipping up a brilliant, fast-paced, grab-your-tissues, great-to-the-very-end book. While my heart was breaking in one chapter, the next chapter filled me with faith and hope.

And then cast of characters... Clara, Elaina, Andreas, Tommy, Adira, Elpis... I am blown away by how naturally and fantastically each character and their personal journey develops. As the reader, you can't help but to feel their struggles and their triumphs!

Remember For Me is an incredibly special book, one that caught me by surprise again and again. I appreciated the historical references and attention to detail and accuracy. Elements of spirituality and multiple faiths were beautifully and fairly represented. Remember For Me is so believable that it delivers a bit of peace, something I had no idea I was longing for.

I highly, highly recommend this book to you. Anyone. Everyone.
I think it goes without saying... I gave Remember For Me 5/5 stars.

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way effects my overall rating of this book.

This review is going to be a hard one to write. Firstly, I’d like to point out that this book took me over a month to read. I was able to finish it much quicker once I got myself a Kindle to read it on because my phone just wasn’t working out (don’t ever read books on your phone – it is the most frustrating thing ever).

Due to this, my thoughts on the book might be a bit based on how my reading experience was rather than the actual book itself. Despite the amount of time it took me to finish this book, I would call it a quick read. When I did sit down and read this book, I was glued to the story and the characters.

The book started out really sad. Our main character has Alzheimer’s and is in a hospital just waiting to die. Our other main character is a child with Cancer barely holding onto his life. The way Schmidt wrote these circumstances (from the perspective of her daughter and his mother, respectively) absolutely broke my heart.

The actual premise of the book confused me a bit. Basically the idea is people die and then they come back in different bodies (that are actually the same, just them at a different age than when they died I guess?) for the purpose of fighting the evil in the world (terrorists and such) in the shadows.

Since they still look like themselves, just at a different stage of life than when they died, they should still be careful about any public appearances they make so they won’t be recognized because wouldn’t that be confusing to see your dead grandmother when she was 30 years old on NBC?

Although I felt for the characters I never felt truly connected with them. I can’t quite say why. I felt for what they were going through, but I never felt like they were real. The relationships felt a bit under-developed. This is just what I thought. Someone else might read this and think that the relationships were more developed than me, but from what I got from this book, I would have liked to have the complexities of the character’s relationships to one another explored more.

This lack of feeling towards the character relationships as well as the disconnect from some of the characters had me… not caring about what happened to them. Obviously I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them, but with the situations they were put in I should have been feeling more stressed about whether they’d make it out alive or not, but I ended up feeling nothing.

I also felt like there wasn’t much of a plot? Like, they work in a secret organization that tries to stop terrorist attacks and disasters from happening, but nothing truly seemed to happen in the entire book. Towards the end there was a sort of climax that was… anticlimactic to be completely honest. I was let down by the ending because I 1) didn’t understand what had happened and 2) didn’t care about what had happened.

Like I said earlier, this is unfortunate because there was a lot of potential for this book to be something amazing, but it ended up letting me down in the end.

Overall I liked the premise and the writing was interesting enough to keep me engaged but I couldn’t get connected to the characters and it took me way too long to read than I would have liked. I would recommend, nonetheless!

TW: Death, grief

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[Alexandra Plath · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an interesting book. When Diana Tarant Schmidt contacted me about reading and reviewing her book, Remember For Me, I was caught immediately by its premise, and how her idea came to be. Having seen first hand the pain that dementia and Alzheimers causes, I was very intrigued by her fictionalized account of this disease, as well as the trouble we find our world in today. With gorgeous prose that is carried throughout the book, the story jumps right in, with little given information, and I’ll admit I was a little confused at first. The concept of the Go’ El and Poneros, as the forces of good and evil in the world, is amazing and complex. I was completely on board with the idea, once I started to figure out how it all worked. I thought the examples she chose to show, as the workings of either group, were very effective, but I would have liked more concrete detail about how these groups operate. While the characters and story line are engaging, I found that the plot took a back seat to the philosophical questions and ideas that this book brings to the surface. Each event was a little rushed through, and many seemed to not have definitive endings, but you still got something out of each moment. There were some entertaining scenes and surprises, but as a whole the plot was a little underwhelming and abstract. And yet, I didn’t totally mind, because I got so much more out of this story. I felt like I could relate to every character in some way, and all of their emotions were vibrant and real. As someone who has always struggled to understand people’s blind faith in religion, I appreciated, and was pleasantly surprised, at how open minded and inclusive this story was, while getting across a peaceful and generally faithful message. I kept thinking how relevant this book is right now, (wars, terrorism, shootings, domestic abuse, etc.) and I loved this concept as an explanation for both the world’s beauty and its destruction.

[Steve S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is a seamless melding of mythology, philosophy, history, religion and politics into a thrilling story about the eternal battle between good and evil. And despite the ambitious themes, the writing is personal and heartfelt. The characters come to life - I was thinking about them even when I wasn't reading.

The story is heartbreaking, but also heart healing. We need more of these stories in 2017.

[J.D. DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like meeting an old friend, I found Remember for Me to be a comfortable and welcoming reading experience. Diana Tarant Schmidt writes with command and took me right into this story and the main character of Clara leads the story capably.

The writing is really lovely here, and the book held my interest throughout. This book works with some interesting concepts, and a definite air of mysticism. A recommended read!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I was very kindly provided with a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions stated below are my own ***

When I first read about this book, I was immediately drawn in by each character's experience of terminal illness - in particular, Cancer, Alzheimer's and Dementia. As awful as they are, I'm glad that these issues are being talked about. We all think it will never happen to us, and maybe we are right. I know some that have fought their battle with cancer and won. I have also known others that lost, some of them children, and I want to take a minute to reflect on these people.

Alzheimers and Dementia are also conditions familiar to me. Sadly, a family member of mine suffered from the condition for a number of years before she passed away from this world. I never had to see her at her worst, but I can relate to a lot of what happens surrounding our MC, Clara.
The presence of suffering in the world is an important theme throughout the book, but equally important themes are balance, faith, hope and altruism.

Clara is living out her last days on Earth, unable to even recognise her family, never mind her surroundings. Elaina, her daughter, struggles to cope. Is it fair for her children to see their grandma and risk them remembering her as she is now, instead of the great woman she once was? As she slowly slips between the waking world and her alternative life, she is mentored by Elpis, and she begins to learn of the good she is able to do once she is free of her limited physical body.

In her new life, Clara is a supercomputer genius. She is a young and capable version of herself; she can research and memorise information relating to the activities of the Poneros, which Elpis needs in order to save countless human lives. Armed with her knowledge, her new companions go out into the field to prevent the next threat from taking place.

Tommy is an eight-year-old boy who has spent his childhood in and out of hospital. Fighting a losing battle against cancer, he gradually succumbs to the illness. When he "awakens" as a young man on a train platform a commotion breaks out. A woman has fallen onto the tracks. Tom instinctively rescues the woman just before the train screeches to a halt where she lay and becomes an anonymous hero. Leaving the station, he meets Andreas, a member of the Go'El. His new life begins.

Life is all about balance. Good and evil. In order to be ready, our main characters had to suffer immeasurably in their first life in order to achieve great things in the next. After their "rebirth", Clara and Tom team up with Andreas, Elpis, Banko and others in the fight against the Poneros and their evil escalation of human terror... but will they succeed in stopping the most ambitious plans yet? What sacrifices will have to be made for the lives of thousands?

I felt I was able to relate to each of the characters in their own way. The struggles Clara and her family had to live through is an experience I have had myself. If you have never known anybody with such debilitating conditions, then take my word for it that Diana has written this in a very authentic way.

I thought it was clever using Greek names for the family in her part of the story. Whilst contextually it makes sense, I think it is an ingenious device in helping us relate directly to Clara. Allow me to explain. As an English reader, I read the word grandma in Greek and was told what it meant. Reading on, I was able to recognise the word, but it had no personal meaning. You know the word represents a familial figure, but in a detached way. I would expect this mirrors feelings that may be felt by a person experiencing such memory loss as Clara does.

I think the book blends shocking reality with an encouraging twist of fiction. Who wouldn't like to believe that there is something better on the other side, after all? There is a respectful balance in honouring both the good and bad that goes on in the world. Faith has it's part as well, and although I am not a believer in any God myself, it didn't spoil my experience. Instead, it made me consider where my faith does fall, and after consideration... I decided it lay in humanity. The good, the bad and the ugly.

I have faith in the people that take risks and endanger themselves to save others. I have faith that people will strive to do what they think is best for others when they are empowered to make that decision. Lastly, whilst inevitably our varied opinions will lead to conflict, I have faith that the majority of us can respect our differences and strive to get along as best we can.

Don't get me wrong...you can read into the messages within Remember For Me as much as you will. It can be read as purely a fictional piece or you can get a little philosophical, as I did. It is up to you entirely, but either way, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I am grateful for the opportunity to read a great work of fiction, so thank you!

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Remember For Me” is a book with a meaning that remains beyond its pages. I was captured mostly by the idea and how the author decided to create a story around it. The beginning might seem a bit difficult to follow, but once you get a grip of what is actually told, for sure you’ll be as mesmerized as I was.

The idea that there is more to life than sickness, the idea that good and evil must coexist in a balance are both explained in tight relation with religious aspects from different cultures. And around this balance we have our main character, Clara Eros, who plays a bigger role than she possibly imagined.

Have you ever thought what happens after we are gone from this world? Maybe nothing awaits us, or maybe we are awakened to a greater version of ourselves. This book raises a lot of questions and is the type of story that sticks with you long after you’ve closed it. I loved it and I loved how the author created an amazing story around Cancer, Alzheimer, Good, Evil, Religion, concepts which have such powerful influence in our life.

[KateMarie29 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will challenge you in every chapter. It will take you into another world...right here within our world. Clara Eros is just one part of this story of good and evil, spiritual realm and physical realm, the present and the past. I found myself identifying with each of the main characters, especially Clara's granddaughter, Elaina, who struggles to understand Clara's Alzheimer's. But I loved Adira and Tommy's story as well. (Keep reading through the sad parts, there is redemption!) This book has suspense, faith, love, and honestly, a kick-ass dose of ninja warrior training. Tarant Schmidt gives us an exciting, intelligent, worthwhile explanation for that age-old struggle between good and evil, and I for one hope her idea is the truth of that struggle. Brilliant debut novel, Ms. Tarant Schmidt, now please write more for us!!