WITH EVERY MEMORY - Janine Rosche - One Free Book

Bio: Janine Rosche is the author of the Madison River Romance and Whisper Canyon series of novels. Prone to wander, she finds as much comfort on the open road as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her stories. When she isn’t traveling or writing novels, she teaches family life education courses, produces The Love Wander Read Journal, and takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs.

Contemporary fiction author Janine Rosche is a master storyteller. Her gift of balancing romance with the perfect amount of family drama has left readers longing for more. In Rosche’s newest novel, With Every Memory, her talents once again rise to the forefront in a tale where lost memories, buried secrets, and rekindled love meld together to form a heart-gripping drama.

About the story: It has been almost a year since the horrible accident that not only took the life of Lori Mendenhall’s teenage son but also stole eight years of memories from her due to a traumatic brain injury. Now she is returning home—but her life is nothing like she remembered. Her sweet daughter is distant, and her once-loving husband is a workaholic she isn’t sure she can trust. As memories begin to resurface, Lori begins to wonder if the life she can’t remember is one she’d rather forget.

Avery Mendenhall is dealing with grief in her own way. She has lost her twin brother and her mother has been beyond reach. For the past year, she has retreated to her room for solace and a safe place to grieve. But life is catching up to her. Her grades and her relationships are suffering, and if she wants to graduate from high school, she will need to rely on help from her brother’s best friend.

Can the Mendenhalls find a way to reconnect and put aside their fractured and fragile past in order to build a stronger and more promising future together?

With Every Memory offers a powerful, relatable, and thought-provoking story that touches upon themes of love, forgiveness, and trust.

Welcome to my blog, Janine. Can you please provide a brief summary of your novel With Every Memory? At its heart, With Every Memory is the story of what happens when an already-broken family loses the one person who has been holding them together. Lori Mendenhall returns home to a family she barely recognizes after the same car accident that killed her son stole the last eight years of memories from her. Lori’s once-loving husband is a stoic workaholic with questionable intentions, and her teenage daughter has been chewed up and spit out by the world following the loss of her twin brother. As Lori’s memories—both good and bad—resurface, she’ll have to decide whether the family she’s returned to is beyond hope.

What was the inspiration for With Every Memory? I wrote this story at a time when several of my friends were fighting to save their marriages. It was heartbreaking to see their struggles, but the worst part was the judgment that came from the people who should have been most supportive in the couples’ time of need. I wrote this story to honor the grit and determination of those who give their all—time, energy, tears, prayers, etc.—to keep their families together, whether they are successful or not.

One of your female protagonists, Lori Mendenhall, has experienced an accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury. What type of research was required to accurately portray someone who has experienced this type of injury? The best research, aside from experiencing something yourself, is to learn directly from those who have experienced it. I consulted a friend who kindly shared her healing journey after a traumatic brain injury. I read books and countless blog posts from people with different types of amnesia as a result of brain injury. Also, I teach the basics of brain development and function through the lifespan in my college courses. For this story, I enjoyed diving deeper into this topic and studying the miraculous ability of the brain to heal, restore, and rewire itself after physical or emotional trauma.

Lori has lost eight years of memories. As she uncovers details of her previous life, she wonders if the life she can’t remember is one she would rather forget. How does she deal with these memories as they begin to resurface? Not well. But seriously, Lori has endured so much tragedy, it’s no surprise her recovered memories cause more stress for her. Within the family dynamic, people and circumstances change over time. The Mendenhalls are no different. Lori is stuck between two different realities. Who she remembers being doesn’t fit in her current world, and she must figure this out without the one person in the family who had remained stable through it all—her son, Austin. The positive side of this, of course, is that Lori has a unique opportunity to view her life with the eyes of an outsider and decide if she wants to do things differently this second time around. 

You are well known for creating heart-gripping family dramas. In With Every Memory, each member of the Mendenhall family is grappling with loss and grief in their own way. What can we learn from their struggles? Humans weren’t created to comprehend death or carry the pain that accompanies it. We weren’t created to love someone and then lose them in an instant. I can attest from the losses I’ve experienced that grief can tear you to pieces, especially if blame or guilt is involved. So we cope the best we can. Rarely do these coping strategies align, which is the Mendenhalls’ struggle. That’s why grief counseling is so important! With some professional help, families can understand the basis for the differing coping strategies and, therefore, extend some grace to each other and us.

What other lessons do you hope readers can gain from reading your novel? Everyone needs a Xander in their life. No, scratch that. Everyone should BE a Xander. Xander Dixon isn’t perfect by any means, but he does one thing that puts him above others: he shows up. He makes himself available to be whatever the hurting person needs him to be. He’s an encourager and friend to Avery. He’s a reminder to Michael of the kind of guy he once was. He gives Lori the chance to mother someone the way she remembers—with grilled cheese sandwiches and extra-chocolatey milk. He even lets Anita lecture him so she can feel like she is doing something worthwhile!

What do you love most about writing contemporary fiction? One thing I can’t handle is knowing that someone feels alone when I can’t do anything about it. That’s why I love giving readers stories about characters they can relate to, in feeling if not in circumstance. While we may not have lost a child, had a traumatic brain injury, or whatever the character’s plight is, we know fear, sorrow, shame, heartache, jubilation, love, and hope. It’s my prayer that a story with a hopeful ending will encourage readers to carry on with whatever they are facing with their own measure of hope.

What are you working on next? I recently made a dream come true by traveling Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was amazing! Now I’m putting all I saw, experienced, and learned into a story set along the fabled highway. It weaves three different eras together into an emotional tale about how we become who we are.

How can readers connect with you?

The best way to get the scoop about new releases, sales, and giveaways is through my newsletter. Find it on https://janinerosche.com.

My Facebook reader group is where the fun happens, https://www.facebook.com/groups/janinerosche.

If you’re passionate about the same things I’m passionate about, such as books, family, travel, and wellness, you’ll love my quarterly digital magazine The Love Wander Read Journal. Find it at http://janinerosche.com/the-love-wander-read-journal/.

Thank you, Janine, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Memory-Novel-Janine-Rosche-ebook/dp/B0BLWNZJTX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TDCESHC23O9R&keywords=with+every+memory+janine+rosche&qid=1687382232&s=books&sprefix=With+Every+Memory%2Cstripbooks%2C95&sr=1-1 

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