I Remember Us

by Jaime Dill

A Heartfelt Collection of Poetry & Love

Whether you’re new to love, seasoned, or stale, I Remember Us will send you spiraling through memories of falling in love and fighting to stay in it.

93 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2021

Reviews

[Christiana Doucette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Remember Us looks back at the love of high school sweethearts in the 2000s, and traces the thread from dial-up internet and Yahoo chatrooms, through a semester apart, marriage, the resession as the 2000's teenagers came of age, children, old linoleum floors, to the now. A beautiful collection that recognizes the strength of enduring love includes grit alongside glamor.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jaime Dill’s I REMEMBER US is a poetry collection that readers will want to return to time and time again. Every poem is like a puzzle piece, where nostalgic memories are pieced together to illustrate that love is a home that we build for ourselves. Dill carefully and expertly constructs her poems to demonstrate that it’s the little things we do for each other that count the most. I REMEMBER US is honest about love. Dill shows that while love isn’t perfect, it’s more than enough, especially when that love is worth fighting for.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is a treasure!!

I loved reading Jaime’s story. It’s relatable in many ways—and in other ways, it’s uniquely HERS. She fell in love at 15, and they’ve beat the odds to stay in love.

I adored the honesty about how hard adulting can be when you’re young and trying to pay bills. I cried over…well, lots of poems. Good, happy tears. I so appreciated the poetry about purity culture and Jaime’s shifting ethos…totally related to her history, and I loved hearing how her perspective has changed.

I’m rambling, because it’s hard to write a structured, cerebral review about a book that so effectively touched my emotions.

Wonderful read.

[Coral · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times poignant, this entire collection was romantic and beautiful. Each poem is wrapped in nostalgia and takes the reader back to that familiar era of first love - no matter if you live in the country or city, you are brought back to those feelings of butterflies waiting for first kisses, the heartbreak of first fights, and the whirlwinds of marriage. There were plenty of excerpts I wanted printed and showcased on my walls, and plenty I wanted to keep to myself, too. It was a pleasure and joy to read, and I can't wait for the rest of the world to discover this author so they may revel in this same great joy.

[Rachel D'Erminio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not usually read poetry; but I think 'I Remember Us' is the perfect way for the non-poetry person to dip their toes into the art form. Jaime's work is accessible and relatable, yet there are deep and beautiful insights into love from first glance to comfortable stability. I particularly loved 'Street Artist' and 'Romanticism'. I am looking forward to having a physical copy of this book so I can pick it up and read my favorites over and over.

[Ryan Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t given a lot of time to poetry collections in my life, but this book is not intimidating at all for someone who reads primarily fiction. In fact, in some ways I REMEMBER US oddly reads like a work of fiction (more on that later). The book itself is quite short, and the selections are brief and very comprehensible. Reading the whole thing in one sitting had me take notice of how many similarities there are in this collection, which could be a negative to some, but it ended up making it seem more than a collection. It almost feels like a new kind of fiction: one where recurring bits and pieces (first kisses, the car rides, the growing up) keep popping up, all forming a chronological roundabout of a story to be pieced together and figured out by the reader. Even the mention of street names made this feel like the story of a life progressing. And it’s exactly that, too.
I had a difficult time picking a favourite here, but when I realized I’d been flipping back to the first poem (the eponymously named “I Remember Us”) two or three times throughout, I definitely have to land on that one.

[Eleanor Strata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poets pour their hearts into their pieces, and Jaime Dill’s ‘I Remember Us’ is an outpouring of emotion about young love tested through: time, one semester’s distance, sameness, and loss.
Dill’s book is a time capsule of a relationship’s most precious and sometimes painful moments—the origins, threats, and triumphs, packaged in words weaved with utmost care, like an ode to the high school sweetheart who had become so much more.

[Elaina Battista-Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jaime is a true poet. I know it because the poems feel like a conversation, and that is HARD to do. It's hard to seem easy. It's hard to be seamless. There's a terrifying rawness about her work that all readers crave.

Jaime braids idea with the visceral, with the moment. I would read this book many times to remember. You want to remember! BRAVO to this gorgeous collection.

If you like love, you'll love Jaime's book.

[Guitar Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is remarkable how Jaime Dill can use few words to evoke such strong emotions. This collection of poems makes my heart soar, knowing that such a love exists. Each poem takes my breath away and I crave to experience such passion..."far more intimately deliberate than mere cosmic fate."

[Cara Robinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The edges of my copy of I Remember Us are already showing evidence of how truly enrapturing the authors work is. Her honest portrayal of young love that grows with time is magnificently told through glimpses of the everyday moments that make falling in love, and staying in it, a journey that I can not stop taking. Every time I read this book its a little different. This book made me reflect on my own love story and marriage in the best ways possible. It is warm and inviting and perfect with hot cocoa and a blanket. The kind of story that feels like Autumn in the summertime. I will eagerly be awaiting more from this promising author!!!!

[L Arias · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I Remember Us” is a collection of poems that narrate the course of her relationship, from the first longing looks and butterflies, through the hard moments that challenge every relationship, all the way to marriage and children.

The poems truly captures the precious moments that every relationship goes through. It reminds you of your own loves, and puts you back in high school, waiting by the phone for that special someone to call. Then fast-fowards to the early days of “playing house”, before anyone really new what growing up meant.

And of course, there’s some poems of a more sensual nature 😉 because what book of poems on love would be complete without those?

I couldn’t begin to choose favorites. But here are some of the ones I relate to most: of all the stars in the galaxy, outliving the odds, ready to soar, let’s fix that, unrepentant, Honda interiors, and our chaotic slumber.

I especially loved the way the poems challenged the religious conversations and expectations of the church, and spoke honestly about the consequences of the teachings. Her metaphors for love throughout are on point, and her language and style is very readable and easy to understand.

Comps: Taylor Swift “Our Song” and “Love Actually”

Do yourself a favor and go to jaimedillauthor.com/books and buy it.

Friendly reminder: She makes 3x more money if you buy from her site than anywhere else so please buy through her directly! ❤️

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Remember Us is intensely personal, vulnerable, and relatable. I had really high hopes for this book, and it far surpassed my expectations. This collection of poetry, on the heels of Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem, has ignited in me not only a desire to READ poetry (I Remember Us is the first book of poetry I’ve successfully read cover-to-cover – and intend to reread), but also to WRITE it. The writing is magnificent, the story is unique to the author and her husband and yet universal; I see myself in these pages. I laughed, I cried, and I REMEMBERED. We see the young couple fall in love—that part’s easy, and fun, full of nostalgia. But then they hit the real world—money problems, unintended pregnancy, heartbreaking loss, fighting with each other—and they overcome. Jaime Dill shows us the beauty of growing and changing together, of loving each other through the changes. This book is a celebration of love, of how love triumphs. Ultimately, I did more than remember the past: I remembered the NOW, I remembered how unbelievably blessed I am to be in a marriage like the one reflected in the pages of I Remember Us.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Clare Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving depiction of a life-long love, from its first teenage origins, through moments of joy, beauty, pain, hope and discovery. Jaime Dill’s collection is carefully crafted; she makes apt and perceptive use of imagery, combining it with a colloquial voice that renders the poems accessible and authentic. Although this is a deeply personal recollection of the poet’s love for her husband, and specific memories of their journey, the feelings expressed are ones that everyone can relate to. A joy to read a collection so honest, and full of optimism for love’s power.

‘May our love
be as evergreen
as pine,
replacing
dead needles
with fresh growth
fast enough
to keep us alive
forever’
- Jaime Dill, outliving the odds

[Deryck Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine collection of poems that chronicles the life of two people falling in love, being together, being apart, beginning life as a couple in various homes, and raising a family. In a world of poetry that is often dark and dystopian, Dill's work is breath of fresh air that reminds us that love still happens and lasts. And, yes, it takes work and late night phone calls. (No, you hang up.) The poems cause me to remember my own experiences in love and leave me with the happy feeling that we all have more in common than we sometimes believe. Jaime's work is accessible, worthy of rereading, and is deserving of a place in your library.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Jaime sent me an ARC, but that has not swayed my opinion of her work].

This poetry is..fabulous. It is so heartfelt, real, and raw. Every emotion described could be felt. If it was a love poem, I could feel the love; heartbreak poem, I could feel my own heart breaking. It was like I was the one experiencing the heartbreak. I could feel EVERYTHING!

The writing itself is amazing. It is simple, yet effective, which I very much appreciate. I can't say enough good things about this book - it is awesome. If you're a poetry lover - or even if you're not - you NEED to get yourself a copy of this book. It is too good not to read!

[L T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the fruitage of an earnest and heartfelt endeavour. It puts into words, the ebbs and flows of the hearts surging waters.

It's been said of love, 'when you're IN love... you'll know.' But that allows for little solice for those on the outside looking in, for those waiting and wondering, and perhaps for the many who have loved, and lost along the way.

This collection is many things; a time-machine, a door-way to a room of memories. It is a well signposted avenue to a future destination, revealing what you yourself may expect.

It is a postcard, hoping and wishing that you were here, and that one day you'll experience the place of love for yourself. Or as one returning again.

This collection reveals love's strongest tone for me - the loyalty of love - tightknit like three-corded rope, sharper than a chefs favorite blade. Truer, even than words.

The fact this collection exists; the world is richer for it.

Thank you, Jaime & Eric for sharing!

[WB Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful collection, this book became a solace for me as I snuck in a few poems on my lunch break or sat in the sun on my patio, slowly turning pages. The quality and texture to these poems made me want to savor them. There’s so much love in her words, and more than anything, they made me want to curl up with my partner and tell him how much I love him; they made me want to pull out old Polaroids and talk about the days when we first came together; they provided a mirror, of sorts, to reflect in as I followed along with her story. The poems were relatable while being uniquely hers, and I am beyond impressed with this collection. I look forward to more work from this author.

[Eden Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book!! Such a perfect tribute to young love that lasts. Jaime is skilled poet with a gift of making you feel what she feels across so many different seasons of her life. This is a book I'll go through many more times just because I love LOVE so much. This book was an ode to it!

Thank you for such a treasure, Jaime!