Do You Remember?

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you like best about the text? What did you like the least? Why?

2. How did you interpret the Epilogue? Is it a conscious memory of Tess’s that she can thus act on in her future life with Harry? Is it simply a delayed telling of something that happened earlier, chronologically, in her story? In other words, do you think Tess remembers that her cancer is in remission and that this prompted her to reach out to Harry? Or will she find out sometime later when her cancer doesn’t worsen?

3. Did you have any sympathy for Graham as a character? Why or why not?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Have you ever learned something you later wished you didn’t know? Is there any detail of your own life that you’d love to get a shot of medication to forget? Why or why not?

2. Have you ever been kept in the dark about something significant, only to have your intuition clue you in? How did your intuition alert you, and how reliable was it?

3. Do you have any experience with the dual nature of technology? Besides cell phones, what other technology has both positive and negative applications?

4. How significant is the link between your memory and your current identity? Do you think you would know who you are today if you couldn’t remember the last seven years of your life? If so, what makes you think so? If not, why not?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Why do you think Tess experiences so much guilt due to her condition and its effects on Graham? As far as she knows, for most of the text, she had a “seizure” while driving and sustained a head injury, which would be entirely accidental. How much of her guilt is related to her being a woman and a wife?

2. In an era of significant medical advancement, there could already—or could soon—be drugs that erase our memories the way the injection Graham gives Tess does. Is there any way in which such a drug could be used ethically? Why or why not?

3. Is Graham’s becoming Tess’s guardian ethical (even if he’s legally in the right)? Why or why not?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What does the narrative’s division into five parts achieve? What would be lost if it had only one or two parts? Why is it important for readers to see several “days in the life” of Tess?

2. How would you describe the novel’s mood, and what literary techniques does McFadden use to achieve it?

3. How believable do you find Lucy’s transformation and redemption as a character? What makes it seem realistic or unrealistic to you?

4. What other themes or messages can you identify in the text? How does the novel convey them?

5. Have you read any other books by Freida McFadden? How do the characters in Do You Remember? compare to her other characters, especially those who have sustained some kind of brain injury? How often are partners as exploitative as Graham? Why might this occur?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Watch Tess’s favorite movie, The Princess Bride. What does this being her go-to comfort movie suggest about her character? Do you think she wants to be like Buttercup? Why or why not?

2. Do you think this book would make a good series (on Netflix or HBO Max, for example)? What would make it appropriate for such an adaptation? Or, conversely, what might prevent it from being engaging in that format?