My Memory Told Me a Secret

by Jeremy C. Bradley-Silverio Donato

2019 Wishing Shelf Book Award Finalist

Nothing hurts quite as meticulously as loving someone who doesn’t love you back.

Career-driven, sometimes cynical Austin meets Noah Hakim, a Muslim man from the other side of town. One man wants it to work. The other doesn’t know what he wants, except to find the next high. Set in the months before and after a 30-something discovers that his partner has infected him with HIV, this book explores the inexplicable feelings that accompany the disintegration of relationships and the connection between cultural memory and identity.

My Memory Told Me a Secret is about the power of choice and the impact of culture, class, and socioeconomic status on two men whose lives intersect in devastating ways.

Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Author also writes as Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato

Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato is originally from the United States and now lives in Paris. He is a graduate of Oxford and a respected voice on organizational leadership, innovation, and culture.

Reviews

[Valentinian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book doesn't do justice to the premise, which I found very interesting, and felt had lots of potential. Generally, the prose is quite poorly constructed, littered with cliches, and with glaring errors in grammar and syntax. Overall, it comes across as very amateurish - more like a first draft than a final publication. In particular, the stilted dialogue quite frankly made me wince and cringe at times. To be honest, I stopped reading about a quarter of the way through. It's a shame because, with a bit more care taken with the re-drafting, editing, and proofreading process, it has the underlying ingredients for a compelling story.

[Daniel Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching story that deserved to be told. The aurthor did a great job introducing us to Austin and Noah. He made you believe in the love they shared bit also connect with the hurt they endured together and separately. Im in love with this book and looking forward to more from this creative machine.

[Lorrayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on this novel. On one hand, since the very beginning it is clear that the meeting of Austin and Noah is a sort of modern chronic for an announced tragedy. As a reader, you know it will go bad, but you keep at it, as a voyeur, watching them suffer as their lives fall apart. On the other hand, this is also the story of how one often finds the most profound understanding of self through the turmoils of grief (for another or for another version of one self). This book is ultimately about a search for identity, about being human, and about the value of friendship and family as grounding forces.

[Lester Donato · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly wonderful story about relationships (romantic, parental, friendship). Very well written and a refreshing take on what one goes through in life these days. Highly Recommended!

[Billy Buttons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: My Memory Told Me a Secret
Author: Jeremy C. Bradley

Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 18
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 18 readers:
17 would read another book by this author.
18 thought the cover was good or excellent.
18 felt it was easy to follow.
17 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 11 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
17 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers’ Comments
‘I read this over three nights and thought it was a masterclass of characterisation, showing how a relationship can spiral downwards in the face of cultural diversity and the horrors of a deadly illness. The author should be proud of his work.’ Male reader, aged 43
‘A character-led gem of a book.’ Female reader, aged 48
‘This is not just an LGBT novel. It’s a deep and compelling look at humanity and the awfulness of facing HIV. Sad, gripping, a bloody good read.’ Female reader, aged 43
‘Very much enjoyed this. The writing is excellent, the subject matter stimulating and, best of all, the author has a lot of interesting things to say.’ Male reader, aged 27

To Sum It Up:
‘A provocative, character-led story. A FINALIST and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

[Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book touches on so many topics that the LGBT-Q community face on a daily. Relationship, friendships, parental and my favorite, the stigma of HIV and of course drugs/alcohol.

The story of Noah and Adam is beautifully written. It felt very personal, and relatable when reading. The drinking, the hookup app (I'm sure it was Grindr, lol) the drug abuse and hookups is all very common in the community, I understood where he was going with it.

I leave you with my favorite of many quotes from the book:

" Working on yourself, understanding what you want, where you are, your limitations and your strengths- that sort of thing. Humans are often faced with competing alternatives; we are vulnerable and emotional beings."

I recommend that if you read this book, you need to have an very open mind. It's a great read. This is my honest opinion

Rating 4.5 (would have been a 5 but the cover is basic)

[Jenifer Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a sad journey through love and an HIV diagnosis.

[John Cuberas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary fiction at its best! I was hooked from the beginning and the characters got more interesting as the story continued. There are times where I felt more like I was Austin then others where I felt more in Noah's side. There were some cringing moments but that's what makes this book above many others, the author was successful in making the reader feel like the characters in the story. Bravo!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off slow. In fact, It was a book I read at night to help me fall back asleep. Then at about 60% in I started to be interested in the complex characters. I did not know what to expect and I really liked the ending. The book got stronger as it progressed. I am happy I continued to read it and thankful for the nights it put me to sleep :) and for the unexpected deepening after the half way point.

[Tobias Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a touching read. I wasn’t sure what to expect in the beginning, as the first part of the book is ajout setting up the dynamics of a relationship. Once you get past that, it really opens up into an interesting look at relationship patterns and culture dynamics.

[Vic Marriott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected

Unique novel exploring territory I was not expecting. Starts off I assumed as a light well done rom com. Not even close. Well worth my time. I did keep thinking a good editor’s hand would have smoothed some rough patches.

[Jacqueline Allan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Didn’t like this book at all. I didn’t think the characters were very well developed and it left me wanting to know more about them. Not a completely rounded story in my opinion.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

An amazingly bad novel. The characters are self-centered and self-destructive. The author tells us about them, their world, and their miserable lives without showing us anything but the miserable mess they make of their lives. A complete waste of time.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

When love and religion can't be experienced together. 2 men, one city, STD, fear, mental health

[Pet · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is very very hard to say, and I even considered for the first time not to give a review. But then I thought that maybe the author wants to know my opinion...
The premise is very interesting, and the book started promising. Sadly, after a few pages the story got lost in too many details that couldn't hold my interest - and so I gave up after 20%.
I hope the author finds lots of readers who aren't like me but get captured in the way the book is written because the writing itself is thoughtful and very good!

[s a gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book really difficult to get into . It held alot of promise but did not work for me.